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# mayday

noun (mayday, maydays); exclamation (Mayday!)

«mayday» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. The international radio call for help used by ships and aircraft in great danger, said three times: "Mayday, mayday, mayday". [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#m1)
2. (informal) Any urgent call for help. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#m2)
3. May Day (two words, capital letters) is a different thing: the first day of May, a spring festival and a workers' holiday. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#m3)

### In the lessons

In stories and safety lessons "Mayday!" tells the reader that a pilot or captain is in life-or-death danger, such as an engine failure or a sinking boat. It is only for real emergencies; using it falsely is a crime. Phrases: send a mayday, a mayday call, put out a mayday. "Pan-pan" is the smaller urgent call when there is no immediate danger to life.

### Examples

- "Mayday, mayday, mayday! Our engine is on fire!" shouted the pilot. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#x1)
- The fishing boat sent a mayday when it began to sink. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#x2)
- The coastguard answered the mayday call within seconds. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#x3)
- Never say "mayday" on a radio as a joke. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#x4)
- My sister's text was a total mayday: "Help, I forgot my homework!" [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#x5)
- In the film, the captain put out a mayday before the storm hit. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#x6)
- On May Day we danced round a maypole at school. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#x7)

### Note

It comes from the French "m'aider" (help me), which sounds like "mayday". Written with a small letter or capital (Mayday!) when it is a call; written "May Day" for the spring holiday. It is said three times so it cannot be mistaken. Trap: do not mix up mayday (help!) with May Day (festival).

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «mayday» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«mayday» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/mayday.html) on Mova free.