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# mayday

«mayday» in Mova's school dictionary: **The international radio call for help used by ships and…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

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

### meaning for a pupil

1) The international radio call for help used by ships and aircraft in great danger, said three times: "Mayday, mayday, mayday". [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#m1)

2) (informal) Any urgent call for help. [tree →](https://md.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://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#m3)

### sense 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://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#x1)
- The fishing boat sent a mayday when it began to sink. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#x2)
- The coastguard answered the mayday call within seconds. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#x3)
- Never say "mayday" on a radio as a joke. [tree →](https://md.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://md.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://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/#x6)
- On May Day we danced round a maypole at school. [tree →](https://md.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).

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «mayday» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mayday/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.