Heyday Meaning
/ˈheɪdeɪ/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA period of success, popularity, or power; prime.
nounAn exultation of the spirits; gaiety; frolic.
Sentence Examples
My sons are in the heyday of youth.
We are in the heyday of youth.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The pop star's ____ was in the early 2000s when she sold millions of records.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In its ____ during the 1920s, the grand hotel was the most popular destination in the entire city.
Word Origin & History
Late 16th century, from earlier heyda (1520s), as exclamation – compare hey, hei. Sense “period of success, vigor” is a respelling as heyday based on unrelated day (as “period of time”) – compare day in the sun.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Must your hot ytch and plurisie of lust, The heyday of your luxury, be fedd Up to a surfeite, and could none but I Be pickt out to be cloake to your close tricks, Your belly-sports?"
— c. 1626 or 1629–1633 (first performance), [John Ford], ’Tis Pitty Shee’s a Whore […], London: […] Nicholas Okes for Richard Collins, […], published 1633, →OCLC, Act IV:
"She started learning the craft at age 13 from her father, who founded the family's tile business, Kam Fat Mahjong, in 1962. Masters who would visit Hong Kong during its manufacturing heyday in the 1970s and 80s also shared their techniques and trained apprentices."
— 2025 July 27, Kathleen Magramo, “The game is almost over for one of Hong Kong’s last mahjong carvers”, in CNN:
"There has been a marked shift in viewing habits since the channels’ heyday, with music videos now more commonly consumed on YouTube and social media rather than television."
— 2026 January 1, Max Pilley, “MTV shuts down final music-only channels with ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’”, in NME:
""Heyday, Miss Morland!" said he. "What is the meaning of this? I thought you and I were to dance together.""
— 1798, Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey:
"Bass. Heydey! good words, good words, I must beleeue'em And be a Coxcombe for my labor."
— 1633, John Ford, The Broken Heart, act IV, scene i, page 252:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The pop star's ____ was in the early 2000s when she sold millions of records.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
In its ____ during the 1920s, the grand hotel was the most popular destination in the entire city.