Black Friday

[ blak frahy-dey, -dee ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

September 24, 1869, the date of a financial panic sparked by gold speculators.
the day after Thanksgiving, one of the busiest shopping days because of discounts offered by retailers: Compare Cyber Monday, Green Monday.
I sign up for promotional emails at my favorite stores before Black Friday so I don’t miss any exceptional bargains.

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Word History and Origins

First recorded in 1865–70; from black in the sense “marked by disaster or misfortune”; the 1951 sense “day after Thanksgiving” originally so called from the troublesome traffic caused by shoppers and later re-explained with reference to the use of black ink to record business profits

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More About Black Friday

What is Black Friday?

Black Friday is a name used for two unrelated occasions. It is now most popularly used in the US to refer to the day after Thanksgiving, which is often considered the first day of the holiday shopping season and is known for featuring discounts from retailers.

The name Black Friday is also used to refer to September 24, 1869, the date of a financial panic in the US sparked by gold speculators.

When it refers to the Friday after Thanksgiving, Black Friday is often characterized as frenzied or chaotic, with many criticizing it as an example of consumerism and overcommercialization.

When is Black Friday?

Black Friday is always the Friday after Thanksgiving, which is always the fourth Thursday in November.

In 2023, Black Friday is November 24. In 2024, Black Friday is November 29.

More information and context on Black Friday

The first widespread use of the term Black Friday was in reference to a financial panic that began in London on May 11, 1866. The name was used again for Friday, September 24, 1869. On that day, a scheme by stock manipulators Jay Gould and James Fisk to corner the gold market instead caused its collapse. The word black was used in the sense of “marked by disaster or misfortune.” It was used this way in the names of other days, including Black Tuesday (October 29, 1929, the day of the market collapse that marked the start of the Great Depression) and Black Monday (October 19, 1987, the day the stock market experienced its greatest fall since the Great Depression).

The name Black Friday has been used to refer to the day after Thanksgiving since at least 1951. The origin of the name is often explained as a reference to the use of black ink to record business profits, but this was not its original sense. In the 1960s, the term was often used in reference to how bad the traffic was on that day. The earliest known reference, though, is in reference to workers falsely calling in sick on the Friday after Thanksgiving.

What are some terms that often get used in discussing Black Friday?

How is Black Friday discussed in real life?

Black Friday is now most commonly used in the US and other places as the name for the day after Thanksgiving, which is considered the biggest shopping and sale day of the year and the opening of the holiday shopping season. It’s often criticized as an example of consumerism and overcommercialization.

I can’t wait for Black Friday deals 😭

— Shay butter ✨ (@_ShaayBabbyyy) October 5, 2021

Best Buy CEO Corie Barry: We are doing everything to avoid Black Friday crowds https://t.co/pVrmAWoy7S by @BrianSozzi #YahooAMS pic.twitter.com/ROLMoOOmie

— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) October 26, 2020

Just worked my first Black Friday. It reminded me why I never go shopping on Black Friday.

— Stevie Buck (@sbuck10) November 24, 2018

Try using Black Friday!

True or False?

Black Friday always falls on the day after Thanksgiving.

Black Friar black frost

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