red-letter
Americanadjective
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marked by red letters, as festival days in the church calendar.
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memorable; especially important or happy.
a red-letter day in his life.
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(of a Bible) having the quoted words of Jesus appear in red type.
a red-letter edition;
the red-letter New Testament presented at her baptism.
Etymology
Origin of red-letter
First recorded in 1660–70
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
His 24 points - his highest tally in a Test match - included two tries, but his kicking, vision and communicative skills laid the foundation for Ireland's red-letter day.
From BBC • Sep. 10, 2023
Saturday was a red-letter day for the history of art in Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 21, 2022
“The eventual purchaser will be able to steward them into publication, which will be a red-letter day for Brontë scholarship,” he said.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 30, 2022
Normally he was a jovial man, with an impish sense of humor, but on that red-letter day he was clearly bummed.
From Washington Post • Mar. 29, 2022
It was a red-letter day, after all, so I put aside the black ink and held up the bottle of red.
From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.