sunday

sunday — noun

1. the day that comes between Saturday and Monday

1.nounA1
Definition

the day that comes between Saturday and Monday

Example

Defne goes to church every Sunday morning with her grandmother.

collocation: Sunday morning / Sunday afternoon

The park near Sivan's house is always crowded on Sunday afternoons.

Common collocations
  • on Sunday
  • on Sundays
  • Sunday morning
  • Sunday afternoon
  • Sunday evening
  • Sunday night
Synonyms
  • Sabbath

    refers specifically to a day of religious rest; used in Jewish and Christian contexts

  • day of rest

    describes the function of Sunday rather than its position in the week

Grammar Patterns

on + Sunday

on + Sundays

Usage Note

In written English, the names of days are always capitalised. Sunday is treated as a rest day in many societies — people stay home from their jobs and may attend religious gatherings or spend time with family. It is considered the first day of the week in many calendar systems but is generally part of the weekend in modern working schedules.

Common Mistakes

I will see you at Sunday.
I will see you on Sunday.
Use 'on' before days of the week, not 'at'.
I work every sunday.
I work every Sunday.
Days of the week must begin with a capital letter.
Idioms

Billy Sunday

idiom

a reference to William Ashley 'Billy' Sunday (1862–1935), an American preacher known for his lively sermons and strong public support for banning alcohol

The biography describes Billy Sunday's journey from professional baseball player to one of America's most famous preachers.

Billy Sunday's energetic sermons attracted huge crowds across the United States in the early 1900s.

(in) a month of Sundays

idiom

This phrase means something will never happen or will take an extremely long time.

Maya said she would finish that project in a month of Sundays.

Will Brian ever learn to cook? Not in a month of Sundays!

your Sunday best

idiom

This phrase refers to a person's best or most formal clothes.

Sara wore her Sunday best to the wedding ceremony.

Diego put on his Sunday best for the job interview.

sunday — adjective

Word family

  • Sundays
    adverbA2
  • sundays
    adjectiveC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

While 'Sunday' names a specific day of the week, 'weekend' refers to Saturday and Sunday together as a period of rest from work or school. 'Sabbath' is a religious term that can mean a day of worship and rest — for most Christians this is Sunday, while in Judaism it is Saturday. 'Day off' is a general term for any day when a person does not have to work, regardless of which day of the week it falls on. For example: 'Most workers look forward to the weekend, but Faisal has Mondays as his day off.' A Christian might say 'We observe the Sabbath on Sunday,' while someone describing their schedule might say 'I have Sunday as my only day off this week.'

weekend ↗Sabbathday off

Common collocations

Nouns

  • Sunday morning
  • Sunday afternoon
  • Sunday evening
  • Sunday night
  • Sunday school
  • Sunday roast
  • Sunday lunch
  • Sunday paper

Phrases

  • Sunday best
  • a month of Sundays
  • Sunday driver
  • Sunday painter

Prepositions

  • on Sunday
  • on Sundays
  • until Sunday
  • by Sunday

Etymology

Old EnglishGermanicLatin

The word 'Sunday' comes from Old English 'Sunnandæg', which means 'day of the sun'. This was a translation of the Latin phrase 'dies Solis' ('day of the sun'), which the Germanic peoples adopted when they took up the seven-day week from the Romans. Many other Germanic languages have a similar word, such as German 'Sonntag' and Dutch 'zondag'.