period

[ peer-ee-uhd ]

/ ˈpɪər i əd /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR period ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a rather large interval of time that is meaningful in the life of a person, in history, etc., because of its particular characteristics: a period of illness; a period of great profitability for a company; a period of social unrest in Germany.

any specified division or portion of time: poetry of the period from 1603 to 1660.

a round of time or series of years by which time is measured.

a round of time marked by the recurrence of some phenomenon or occupied by some recurring process or action.

the point of completion of a round of time or of the time during which something lasts or happens.

Education. a specific length of time during school hours that a student spends in a classroom, laboratory, etc., or has free.

any of the parts of equal length into which a game is divided.

the time during which something runs its course.

the present time.

the point or character (.) used to mark the end of a declarative sentence, indicate an abbreviation, etc.; full stop.

a full pause, as is made at the end of a complete sentence; full stop.

a sentence, especially a well-balanced, impressive sentence: the stately periods of Churchill.

a periodic sentence.

an occurrence of menstruation.

a time of the month during which menstruation occurs.

Geology. the basic unit of geologic time, during which a standard rock system is formed: comprising two or more epochs and included with other periods in an era.

Physics. the duration of one complete cycle of a wave or oscillation; the reciprocal of the frequency.

Music. a division of a composition, usually a passage of eight or sixteen measures, complete or satisfactory in itself, commonly consisting of two or more contrasted or complementary phrases ending with a conclusive cadence; sentence(def 3).

Astronomy.

Also called period of rotation. the time in which a body rotates once on its axis.
Also called period of revolution. the time in which a planet or satellite revolves once about its primary.

Mathematics. See under periodic¹(def 5).

Classical Prosody. a group of two or more cola.

adjective

noting, pertaining to, evocative of, imitating, or representing a historical period or the styles current during a specific period of history: period costumes; a period play.

interjection

(used by a speaker or writer to indicate that a decision is irrevocable or that a point is no longer discussable): I forbid you to go, period.

Origin of period

1375–1425; late Middle English periode (< Middle French) < Medieval Latin periodus, Latin < Greek períodos circuit, period of time, period in rhetoric, literally, way around. See peri-, -ode²

SYNONYMS FOR period

2 term.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR period ON THESAURUS.COM

synonym study for period

1. See age.

OTHER WORDS FROM period

sub·pe·ri·od, noun

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH period

interval period

Words nearby period

perineum, perineural anesthesia, perineuritis, perineurium, perinuclear, period, period drama, period of revolution, period piece, period-luminosity relation, periodate

Definition for period (2 of 2)

periodic ¹

[ peer-ee-od-ik ]

/ ˌpɪər iˈɒd ɪk /

adjective

recurring at intervals of time: periodic revivals of an interest in handicrafts.

occurring or appearing at regular intervals: periodic visits by doctors to the village.

repeated at irregular intervals; intermittent: periodic outbreaks of the disease.

Physics. recurring at equal intervals of time.

Mathematics. (of a function) having a graph that repeats after a fixed interval (period) of the independent variable.

Astronomy.

characterized by a series of successive circuits or revolutions, as the motion of a planet or satellite.
of or relating to a period, as of the revolution of a heavenly body.

pertaining to or characterized by rhetorical periods, or periodic sentences.

Origin of periodic

1635–45; < Latin periodicus < Greek periodikós. See period, -ic

OTHER WORDS FROM periodic

pe·ri·od·i·cal·ly, adverb qua·si-pe·ri·od·i·cal·ly, adverb

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH periodic

periodic periodical

Example sentences from the Web for period

The detectives are still at it, seeking to account for a period of time when Brinsley may well have paused to sit somewhere.

Exclusive: Inside a Cop-Killer’s Final Hours |Michael Daly |December 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The idea that January 1st initiates a period of new beginning is not a flash of Hallmark brilliance.

New Year’s Eve, Babylon Style |Candida Moss |December 31, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Over the years, the meaning has evolved, essentially, to “Christmastime,” and describes the period between Dec. 24 and Jan. 6.

The Most Confusing Christmas Music Lyrics Explained (VIDEO) |Kevin Fallon |December 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Like Lent, the season of Advent was a period of reflection and fasting, and items such as dairy and sugar were forbidden.

One Cake to Rule Them All: How Stollen Stole Our Hearts |Molly Hannon |December 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST

The biggest blowback will be against the ‘reforming’ Kentucky senator, because Republicans back cops, period.

GOP Won’t Forgive Rand for Cop Critique |Lloyd Green |December 23, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
It was during this period of her life that she won a friendship quite as strong and quite as precious as that of old Grossetete.

The Village Rector |Honore de Balzac
In the 12th century the same gospels were again copied by pious hands into the Kentish dialect of the period.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Slice 7 |Various
The son at this period would have awoke him, but he became more composed, for a time, and enjoyed apparently a refreshing sleep.

Fardorougha, The Miser |William Carleton
At that period the father of the present owner was still living, and for sundry reasons had the greatest confidence in me.

The Freebooters |Gustave Aimard
In the last year of this period the pattern post was established.

The Life of Sir Rowland Hill, Vol. II (of 2) |Rowland Hill

British Dictionary definitions for period (1 of 2)

period

/ (ˈpɪərɪəd) /

noun

a portion of time of indefinable length he spent a period away from home

a portion of time specified in some waythe Arthurian period; Picasso's blue period
(as modifier)period costume

a nontechnical name for an occurrence of menstruation

geology a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks is formed the Jurassic period

a division of time, esp of the academic day

physics maths

the time taken to complete one cycle of a regularly recurring phenomenon; the reciprocal of frequencySymbol: T
an interval in which the values of a periodic function follow a certain pattern that is duplicated over successive intervalssin x = sin ( x + 2π ), where 2π is the period

astronomy

the time required by a body to make one complete rotation on its axis
the time interval between two successive maxima or minima of light variation of a variable star

chem one of the horizontal rows of elements in the periodic table. Each period starts with an alkali metal and ends with a rare gas Compare group (def. 11)

Also called: full stop the punctuation mark (.) used at the end of a sentence that is not a question or exclamation, after abbreviations, etc

a complete sentence, esp a complex one with several clauses

Also called: sentence music a passage or division of a piece of music, usually consisting of two or more contrasting or complementary musical phrases and ending on a cadence

(in classical prosody) a unit consisting of two or more cola

rare a completion or end

Word Origin for period

C14 peryod, from Latin periodus, from Greek periodos circuit, from peri- + hodos way

British Dictionary definitions for period (2 of 2)

periodic

/ (ˌpɪərɪˈɒdɪk) /

adjective

happening or recurring at intervals; intermittent

of, relating to, or resembling a period

having or occurring in repeated periods or cycles

Derived forms of periodic

periodically, adverb periodicity (ˌpɪərɪəˈdɪsɪtɪ), noun

Medical definitions for period (1 of 2)

period

[ pîr′ē-əd ]

n.

An interval of time characterized by the occurrence of a certain condition, event, or phenomenon.

One of the stages of a disease.

A menstrual period.

A sequence of elements arranged in order of increasing atomic number.

Medical definitions for period (2 of 2)

periodic

[ pîr′ē-ŏd′ĭk ]

adj.

Having or marked by repeated cycles.

Recurring at regular intervals.

Scientific definitions for period

period

[ pĭr′ē-əd ]

A division of geologic time that is longer than an epoch and shorter than an era.

The duration of one cycle of a regularly recurring action or event. See also cycle frequency.

An occurrence of menstruation.

In the Periodic Table, any of the seven horizontal rows that contain elements arranged in order of increasing atomic number. All the elements in a particular period have the same number of electron shells in their atoms, equal to the number of the period. Thus, atoms of nickel, copper, and zinc, in period four, each have four electron shells. See Periodic Table.

Cultural definitions for period

period

A punctuation mark (.) that ends a declarative sentence. A period is also used in abbreviations such as Mr. and Dr.

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

period

noun

adjective

interjection

Origin of period

SYNONYMS FOR period

synonym study for period

OTHER WORDS FROM period

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH period

Words nearby period

Definition for period (2 of 2)

adjective

Origin of periodic

OTHER WORDS FROM periodic

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH periodic

Example sentences from the Web for period

British Dictionary definitions for period (1 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for period

British Dictionary definitions for period (2 of 2)

adjective

Derived forms of periodic

Medical definitions for period (1 of 2)

n.

Medical definitions for period (2 of 2)

adj.

Scientific definitions for period

Cultural definitions for period

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

period

noun

adjective

interjection

Origin of period

SYNONYMS FOR period

synonym study for period

OTHER WORDS FROM period

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH period

Words nearby period

Definition for period (2 of 2)

adjective

Origin of periodic

OTHER WORDS FROM periodic

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH periodic

Content related to period

Words related to period

Example sentences from the Web for period

British Dictionary definitions for period (1 of 2)

noun

Word Origin for period

British Dictionary definitions for period (2 of 2)

adjective

Derived forms of periodic

Medical definitions for period (1 of 2)

n.

Medical definitions for period (2 of 2)

adj.

Scientific definitions for period

Cultural definitions for period