51³Ô¹Ï

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new year

noun

  1. the year approaching or newly begun.
  2. (initial capital letters) the first day or few days of a year in any of various calendars.


New Year

noun

  1. the first day or days of the year in various calendars, usually celebrated as a holiday
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged†2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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51³Ô¹Ï History and Origins

Origin of new year1

Middle English word dating back to 1150–1200
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Lillywhite compared the honour to becoming a CBE for services to music in the 2012 New Year Honours list.

From

A former commercial pilot, Chung started posting on WeChat in February and has in recent months shared his interviews with Asian business owners, Lunar New Year greetings, and his promises to the community, where about one in five voters are ethnically Chinese.

From

You could pick whatever timing, but I like the fact that this time of year is out of step with the typical “reflection†cycle of the new year.

From

The uncertainty around the campaign lasted into the new year, until a surprising twist in January.

From

He was among the first organizers of the local Tet Festival to celebrate the Lunar New Year — which eventually became the largest celebration outside of Vietnam.

From

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More About New Year

What doesÌýNew Year mean?

When capitalized, the term New Year commonly refers to the first day or the first few days of a new year starting on January 1.

This is the sense of the term that’s used in the phrase Happy New Year and in the terms New Year’s Eve (December 31) and New Year’s Day (January 1), which is a holiday to celebrate the New Year. The term New Year’s can refer to either New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day. It can also refer to the period of time spanning the end of the year and the beginning of the new one. New Year can also be used in this way, as in We’ll be away for the New Year, but we’ll be back on January 4.ÌýÌý

Of course, people who are wishing you a Happy New Year are probably wishing that your entire year is happy, too—not just its first day or first few days. In general, a new year is the year that has just begun or will begin soon.

The term New Year is also used in the context of the beginnings of years that are based on other calendars, such as a Lunar New Year. For example, the Chinese New Year and the Jewish New Year (known as Rosh Hashanah) are both based on lunar calendars. The New Year holiday known as Nowruz (sometimes called the Persian New Year) occurs on the vernal equinox.

In the U.S., theÌýNew Year is part of what’s known as the holiday season (sometimes called the holidays)—the period that starts on Thanksgiving and continues until New Year’s Day and includes the holidays of Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and New Year’s Eve.

Many people view the New Year as a time for new beginnings and resolutions.

Example: Let’s see how I keep up with my fitness goals after the New Year.

Where doesÌýNew Year come from?

The first records of the term New Year come from the 1100s. The term New Year’s Day is first recorded in the 1100s and New Year’s Eve is first recorded in the 1300s.

New Year’s Eve is traditionally a time for parties and counting down to theÌýNew Year. Some people seek to observe the passage into a new year quietly, but others do it with a bang—often literally. New Year celebrations often feature fireworks, noisemakers, or banging on pots and pans. The verb phrase ring in in ring in the New Year refers to the fact that the arrival of the New Year is often greeted with the ringing of bells, such as church bells.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to New Year?

  • new year (uncapitalized)

What are some synonyms for New Year?

What are some words that share a root or word element with New Year?Ìý

Ìý

What are some words that often get used in discussing New Year?

Ìý

How isÌýNew Year used in real life?

When people use the term New Year, they’re commonly referring to the first few days of the year starting on January 1, which is often seen as a time of new beginnings. But there are other New Year celebrations based on other calendars.

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Try usingÌýNew Year!

Is New Year used correctly in the following sentence?

If you don’t have any plans for the New Year, you should come to my party.

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new wrinkleNew Year's