Black Friday
noun
The day after the US holiday of Thanksgiving, regarded as the first day of the Christmas shopping season, on which retailers make many special offers: shoppers were snapping up deals on Black Friday...
- Reports say the retailer is reporting its best-ever Black Friday.
- Some items tend to be better deals than others on Black Friday.
- The race is on to be first in line for this year's best deals on holiday gifts: Black Friday is almost here.
Origin
Early 17th century (as school slang, in the sense 'Friday on which an examination is held'). The shopping sense dates from the 1960s and was originally used with reference to congestion created by shoppers; it was later explained as a day when retailers’ accounts went from being ‘in the red’ to ‘in the black’.