Good Friday

noun

: the Friday before Easter observed in churches as the anniversary of the crucifixion of Christ and in some states of the U.S. as a legal holiday

Examples of Good Friday in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The stock market was closed on April 3 due to Good Friday. — Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026 Are Good Friday and Passover related? — Amaris Encinas, USA Today, 2 Apr. 2026 Good Friday, hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday. — Kevin Liptak, CNN Money, 6 Apr. 2026 They’re hidden somewhere safe, where nobody can use them, which strikes me as a very Good Friday Agreement-lite sort of solution. — Sophie Brookover, Vulture, 1 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for Good Friday

Word History

Etymology

from its special sanctity

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Good Friday was in the 14th century

Rhymes for Good Friday

See All Rhymes for Good Friday

Browse Nearby Words

good for (someone or something)
Good Friday
Good-Friday grass
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Good Friday.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Good%20Friday. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

Good Friday

noun
: the Friday before Easter observed by Christians as the anniversary of the crucifixion of Christ

More from Merriam-Webster on Good Friday

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Good Friday

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All