vacation
noun · verb
Simple meaning
Leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
vaykayshuhnSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
veɪˈkeɪʃən
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
Leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
“We get two weeks of vacation every summer.”
An extended period of leisure time away from work or school.
An extended trip or journey away from home for rest or pleasure.
A period during which official activity or business is formally suspended; an official holiday from university, law courts etc.
The act of vacating something; moving out.
verb
intransitive
To spend or take a vacation.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Leisure time away from work devoted to rest or pleasure
Used this way, vacation is a common word with a clearly warm, approving pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“We get two weeks of vacation every summer.”
- Emotional tone
- Positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use vacation
- “We get two weeks of vacation every summer.”noun
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
The act of taking a vacation.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A dwelling (a second home) where you live while you are on vacation.
An area where many people go for recreation.
A vacation from work by an employee with pay granted.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: leisure time away from work devoted to rest
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “vacation” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.