day

Pluraldays

Formsdays, daying, dayed

1. 1
   24 hoursnouncountable

   A period of 24 hours, usually counted from one midnight to the next, as a unit of time or a single date on the calendar.

   In the Jewish calendar, each day starts at nightfall rather than midnight.

   Banks record transactions according to the calendar day on which they occur.

   UsageUse on with a day: on that day, on the day of the exam.

   Note

   Where a day starts is a convention, not a fact of the sky. Civil reckoning draws the line at midnight. Jewish reckoning draws it at sunset, so an evening already belongs to the following day. The same conventional character shows in how days are ordered into weeks: Monday counts as the first day of the week in many countries, though not in all. Source

   Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

   • The starting point of a calendar day is conventional. en.wikipedia.org
   • Civil days begin at midnight. chabad.org
   • Jewish calendar days are conventionally reckoned from sunset. jewishhuntsville.com
   • The evening after sunset belongs to the next Jewish calendar date. hebcal.com
   • Monday is counted as the first day of the week in many countries, but this convention is not universal. en.wikipedia.org
2. 2
   daylightnoununcountable

   The hours when the Sun is above the horizon and lights up the sky.

   Workers cleared the rubble by day and rested at night.

   The hikers reached the summit before day faded into evening.

   UsageContrasted with night: by day, during the day, day and night.

   Similardaytime, daylight

   Oppositenight

   Note

   Here day is the half of the cycle that pairs with night, as in day and night or sleeping during the day, and it can carry a whole mood of weather: the American novelist Winston Churchill's The Celebrity (1897) has “The day was cool and snappy for August.” Daylight names the light; day names the time it fills. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Winston Churchill was an American novelist. en.wikipedia.org
   • Winston Churchill wrote The Celebrity. gutenberg.org
   • The quoted words occur in The Celebrity. gutenberg.org
3. 3
   eranouncountable

   A particular period of time, especially one tied to when a person or thing existed or was at its height.

   Steam trains were the fastest transport of their day.

   In his day, the old champion could beat anyone in the ring.

   UsageUsually with an owner or pointer: in his day, in those days, back in the day.

   Similarera, age, time, period, epoch

   Note

   George Orwell's “in Jones's day” measures a whole period by the man who dominated it. The proverb every dog has its day shows the same reach, while the synonyms era and epoch sound grander and more formal. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • George Orwell uses “in Jones's day” in Animal Farm to refer to the period when Jones controlled the farm; the wording belongs to the narrator. gutenberg.net.au
   • “Every dog has its day” is an established proverb referring to someone's opportunity for success. en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   yearly holidaynouncountable

   A day set aside for a particular purpose, activity or observance, such as a yearly holiday, an election or a house move.

   Many countries set aside a day each year to honor their workers.

   On Earth Day, volunteers planted hundreds of saplings in the park.

   UsageNamed holidays take capitals: Earth Day, Christmas Day; ordinary occasions do not: moving day, wedding day.

   Similarholiday, observance

5. 5
   nouncountable

   The portion of a day spent at one's job, school, or similar activity.

   He works a ten-hour day at the warehouse, four days a week.

   By the end of the day, the teacher was hoarse from explaining fractions.

   UsageCommon in a long day, a school day, work a ten-hour day.

   Similarshift

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