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holiday and holidays

In British English, the plural holidays is often used for the ‘long holiday’ of the year. In other cases we normally use the singular holiday. Compare:

  • Where are you going for your summer holiday(s)?
  • We get five days’ Christmas holiday this year.
  • Next Monday is a public holiday.

The singular is used in the British expression on holiday (note the preposition).

  • I met Marianne on holiday in Norway. (not … on/in holidays …)

Americans more often use the word vacation. (In British English, vacation is mainly used for the periods when universities are not teaching.) Holiday is most often used in American English for a day of publicly observed celebration (such as Thanksgiving) when people do not have to work.