Period Definition & Meaning

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    • Synonyms period American [peer-ee-uhd] / ˈpɪər i əd /

    noun

    1. 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.

    2. any specified division or portion of time.

      poetry of the period from 1603 to 1660.

      Synonyms: term

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

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

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

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

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

    8. the time during which something runs its course.

    9. the present time.

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

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

    12. a sentence, especially a well-balanced, impressive sentence.

      the stately periods of Churchill.

    13. a periodic sentence.

    14. an occurrence of menstruation.

    15. a time of the month during which menstruation occurs.

    16. 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.

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

    18. 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.

    19. Astronomy.

      1. Also called period of rotation. the time in which a body rotates once on its axis.

      2. Also called period of revolution. the time in which a planet or satellite revolves once about its primary.

    20. Mathematics. periodic15

    21. Classical Prosody. a group of two or more cola.

    adjective

    1. 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

    1. (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.

    period British / ˈpɪərɪəd /

    noun

    1. a portion of time of indefinable length

      he spent a period away from home

      1. a portion of time specified in some way

        the Arthurian period

        Picasso's blue period

      2. ( as modifier )

        period costume

    3. a nontechnical name for an occurrence of menstruation

    4. geology a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks is formed

      the Jurassic period

    5. a division of time, esp of the academic day

    6. physics maths

      1. T. the time taken to complete one cycle of a regularly recurring phenomenon; the reciprocal of frequency

      2. an interval in which the values of a periodic function follow a certain pattern that is duplicated over successive intervals

        sin x = sin (x + 2π), where 2π is the period

    7. astronomy

      1. the time required by a body to make one complete rotation on its axis

      2. the time interval between two successive maxima or minima of light variation of a variable star

    8. 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

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

    10. a complete sentence, esp a complex one with several clauses

    11. 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

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

    13. rare a completion or end

    "Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 period Scientific / pĭr′ē-əd /

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

    2. The duration of one cycle of a regularly recurring action or event.

    3. See also cycle frequency

    4. An occurrence of menstruation.

    5. 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.

    6. See Periodic Table

    period Cultural

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

    Usage

    What is a basic definition of period? A period is a punctuation symbol that is used to end most sentences. A period is also a specified length of time or a length of time where something important happened or a trend occurred. Period has many other senses as a noun, an adjective, and an interjection.A period is a major punctuation mark used in English that resembles a dot, like the dot at the end of this sentence. A period is used to end any sentence that isn’t a question (which uses a question mark) or an exclamation (which uses an exclamation point) or that trails off using an ellipsis. Periods are also used in abbreviations, such as Mrs. or Dr.Real-life examples: This sentence ends in a period. This sentence also ends in a period. Most of the sentences you read, such as this one, end in periods.Used in a sentence: In English, we use periods to end most sentences. The word period is also used to refer to a length of time where something important happened or was defined by something memorable.Real-life examples: A person may experience a period of illness. A business may go through a period where it didn’t make much money. For most people, the teenage years are a rebellious period of their life.Used in a sentence: Stores always experience a period of increased business during the holidays. The word period can also be used to refer to any designated length of time.Used in a sentence: He likes to read books about the Medieval period. The word period can refer to a length of time where some distinctive phenomena or trend happened.Real-life example: The Renaissance period of European history had a distinct trend of creativity in art and culture.Used in a sentence: She is an expert in literature from the Victorian period.

    Related Words

    See age.

    Other Word Forms

    • subperiod noun

    Etymology

    Origin of period

    First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English periode, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin periodus, from Latin, from Greek períodos “circuit, length of time,” literally, “way around”; equivalent to peri- + -ode 2

    Example Sentences

    Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

    The government report predicts the rapid pace of economic expansion will continue and the “present macro-economic situation presents a rare goldilocks period of high growth and low inflation.”

    From MarketWatch

    The disruption came in the very busy travel period between Christmas and New Year.

    From Barron's

    The value of its Bitcoin holdings also slid in that period.

    From Barron's

    “Silver has the habit of becoming a hot ticket once every 10 – 20 years. During those periods, it is very hard to call a definitive top since investor enthusiasm can remain elevated,” he said.

    From Barron's

    These borrowers may not have made payments for an extended period of time, according to Sattelmeyer.

    From MarketWatch

    Related Words

    • age
    • course
    • cycle
    • date
    • duration
    • era
    • season
    • span
    • stage
    • stretch
    • term
    • time

    Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

    Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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