eve

¹ American  

[eev] / iv /

noun

1. (sometimes initial capital letter) the evening or the day before a holiday, church festival, or any date or event.

   Christmas Eve; the eve of an execution.

2. the period preceding or leading up to any event, crisis, etc..

   on the eve of the American Revolution.

3. the evening.

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Eve ² American  

[eev] / iv /

noun

1. (in the Bible) the name of the first woman: wife of Adam and progenitor of the human race.

2. a female given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “life.”

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Eve ¹ British  

/ iːv /

noun

1. Old Testament the first woman; mother of the human race, fashioned by God from the rib of Adam (Genesis 2:18-25)

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eve ² British  

/ iːv /

noun

1. 1. the evening or day before some special event or festival

   2. ( capital when part of a name )

      New Year's Eve

2. the period immediately before an event

   on the eve of civil war

3. an archaic word for evening

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Eve Cultural  

1. In the Book of Genesis, the first woman. (See Adam and Eve and Creation.)

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eve Idioms  

1. see on the eve of.

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Etymology

Origin of eve

1200–50; Middle English; variant of even ²

Explanation

An eve is the day — or night — just before some event. You might call the day before your birthday your "birthday eve." Some holidays are well-known for having the proceeding days distinguished as eves: many of us celebrate New Year's Eve, others gather for meals on Christmas Eve or Passover Eve, and the word "Halloween" comes from "All Hallow's Eve." The word eve is sometimes also a shortened form of evening, the last part of the day: "It stays light so late on a summer's eve."

Example Sentences

On the eve of the war, they were just below 4%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026

Yet nothing compares to the news that he sued his parents this week on the eve of opening day, accusing them of draining staggering amounts of his money from four financial accounts they created.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 27, 2026

And you, my friend, have come up against a brick wall on the eve of your 73rd birthday, when your first RMD is due, and there’s no way around it.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026

From Feb. 27—the eve of the war with Iran—to March 19, Chevron shares rose 7.9% and added $29.3 billion to its market capitalization.

From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026

What news from the South, O sighing wind, do you bring to me at eve?

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

Related Words

• brink
• night
• verge