Mardi Gras
noun
Mar·di Gras
ˈmär-dē-ˌgrä 
in New Orleans commonly -ˌgrȯ
1
a
: Shrove Tuesday often observed (as in New Orleans) with parades and festivities
b
: a carnival period climaxing on Shrove Tuesday
2
: a festive occasion resembling a pre-Lenten Mardi Gras
Examples of Mardi Gras in a Sentence
We're going to New Orleans for Mardi Gras.
It was a Mardi Gras to remember!
Recent Examples on the Web
Days later across the country, police said a 19-year-old man killed two people and injured 12 others at an outdoor concert during Mardi Gras festivities in Mamou, Louisiana.
—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2025
Stone performed at the Mardi Gras Association’s Grand Marshal’s Ball in Mobile, Alabama, on Feb. 28, the day before her death.
—Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 25 Mar. 2025
Her work incorporates her passion for food, hospitality, live music, and New Orleans Mardi Gras culture.
—Britney Porter, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is the undisputed birthplace of jazz, where the genre was created by the same cross-cultural collisions that brought us gumbo and Mardi Gras.
—Nicholas Derenzo, AFAR Media, 21 Mar. 2025
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N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2025
Stone performed at the Mardi Gras Association’s Grand Marshal’s Ball in Mobile, Alabama, on Feb. 28, the day before her death.
—Rania Aniftos, Billboard, 25 Mar. 2025
Her work incorporates her passion for food, hospitality, live music, and New Orleans Mardi Gras culture.
—Britney Porter, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans is the undisputed birthplace of jazz, where the genre was created by the same cross-cultural collisions that brought us gumbo and Mardi Gras.
—Nicholas Derenzo, AFAR Media, 21 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for Mardi Gras
Cite this Entry
“Mardi Gras.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Mardi%20Gras. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Mardi Gras
noun
Mar·di Gras
ˈmärd-ē-ˌgrä
: the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday often observed with parades and merrymaking
Etymology
French, literally "fat Tuesday"
Word Origin
The Christian period of fasting known as Lent begins every year on Ash Wednesday. The day before Lent begins is a time of celebration and feasting in many places. One of the original reasons for such feasting was probably to use up the last supplies of foods, such as meat and fat, which were not eaten during Lent. The eating of such foods may be why the day became known in France as Mardi Gras, which means "fat Tuesday." It is also possible that the name comes from a former custom of parading a fattened ox through Paris on this day.
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