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While learning the word "yet" in the Cambridge dictionary, I found the sentence:

Our holiday isn't for weeks yet.

I can't understand what the sentence means. What it means in general? Does "isn't for weeks" mean "doesn't last for weeks"?

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    Please edit your question to explain exactly which elements of the sentence confuse you. Do you not understand some of the word? Do you not understand how the word "for" operates? Are you confused about the verb tense? What steps did you take to understand the sentence before you asked your question here?
    – Jeffrey Carney
    Nov 22, 2021 at 5:34

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If something will happen when a particular amount of time has elapsed, you use the preposition in:

Our holiday is in four weeks

If something will not happen within a specified period of time, you use the preposition for:

Our holiday isn't for several weeks

We generally use the negative form when we want to emphasise that something will not happen for a long period of time.

We can add the adverb yet without changing the meaning:

Our holiday isn't for several weeks yet

We can omit several without changing the meaning:

Our holiday isn't for weeks yet

You would most likely use this expression if somebody asks whether you are going on holiday soon, and you want to make it clear that you are not going on holiday soon at all.

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    Note, the yet construction is more common in British English, American English would probably never use it. "Our vacation isn't for weeks" or "Our vacation is weeks away"
    – Robin Clower
    Nov 22, 2021 at 14:49
  • It might be helpful to mention the specific meaning of "yet" that applies in this case. I believe it's being used as a synonym of "still", though the latter often appears in the middle of the sentence rather than at the end (i.e. "Our holiday still isn't for weeks").
    – DoctorDestructo
    Nov 22, 2021 at 15:35
  • Doesn't "our holiday is in X weeks" mean it'll start after X weeks? You use "within", which would mean someday inside X-week period of time. I'm a bit confused.
    – Vova
    Nov 22, 2021 at 16:20
  • @vova Your understanding of "in" and "within" is correct. The first sentence of this answer is in error.
    – DoctorDestructo
    Nov 22, 2021 at 17:48
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    Using "yet" would be absolutely common in American English "X doesn't happen for weeks, yet". Using "holiday" would not be. In American English holidays are specifically observed dates on a calendar, like Christmas or Thanksgiving, and the word doesn't apply to vacations in general. (I understand this is different in British English and maybe some others.)
    – coppereyecat
    Nov 22, 2021 at 22:27
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In that context, "yet" contributes almost nothing. It's simply a choice of wording. It might, sometimes, add a bit of emphasis but the operative word would be "bit"…

"… isn't for weeks" does not mean "won't last (for) weeks…" it means "won't start for weeks…"

We might more clearly say "Our holiday isn't for weeks yet."

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