Halloween
noun
Hal·low·een
ˌha-lə-ˈwēn 
ˌhä-
ˌhä-
variants
or less commonly Hallowe'en
: October 31 observed especially with dressing up in disguise, trick-or-treating, and displaying jack-o'-lanterns during the evening
Examples of Halloween in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
When Hen nearly lost her son in a car accident this past Halloween, that felt real.
—
Andy Swift, TVLine, 24 Apr. 2025
Hordes of horror films line up for Halloween and a sleigh full of Christmas movies arrive annually in December, but there is slightly less competition around the paper-pushing rite of Tax Day.
—Jake Coyle, Twin Cities, 24 Apr. 2025
In 2020, she was banned from Twitch for a Halloween stream.
—Veronica Villafañe, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
In the late 1980s, the actor met his future wife at a Halloween party in New Orleans.
—Emily Weaver, People.com, 23 Apr. 2025
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Andy Swift, TVLine, 24 Apr. 2025
Hordes of horror films line up for Halloween and a sleigh full of Christmas movies arrive annually in December, but there is slightly less competition around the paper-pushing rite of Tax Day.
—Jake Coyle, Twin Cities, 24 Apr. 2025
In 2020, she was banned from Twitch for a Halloween stream.
—Veronica Villafañe, Forbes.com, 24 Apr. 2025
In the late 1980s, the actor met his future wife at a Halloween party in New Orleans.
—Emily Weaver, People.com, 23 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for Halloween
Cite this Entry
“Halloween.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Halloween. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Halloween
noun
Hal·low·een
ˌhal-ə-ˈwēn
ˌhäl-
ˌhäl-
: October 31 celebrated especially by wearing costumes, trick-or-treating, and displaying jack-o'-lanterns
Etymology
an altered form of All Hallow Even, the eve of All Saints' Day
Word Origin
Modern-day Christians know the first of November as All Saints' Day. In the Middle Ages it was called All Hallow Day. This was a hallowed or holy day celebrated in honor of all the saints in heaven. Since November 1 was a special holy day with a special name, the day before it had a special name as well. October 31 was called All Hallow Eve or All Hallow Even. The words eve and even were used both for the evening and the day before a special day. This name was sometimes written All Hallow E'en and later shortened to Halloween.
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