Definitions for period
ˈpɪər i ədpe·ri·od

Princeton's WordNet(2.50 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. time period, period of time, periodnoun

   an amount of time

   "a time period of 30 years"; "hastened the period of time of his recovery"; "Picasso's blue period"

2. periodnoun

   the interval taken to complete one cycle of a regularly repeating phenomenon

3. periodnoun

   (ice hockey) one of three divisions into which play is divided in hockey games

4. period, geological periodnoun

   a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks formed

   "ganoid fishes swarmed during the earlier geological periods"

5. periodnoun

   the end or completion of something

   "death put a period to his endeavors"; "a change soon put a period to my tranquility"

6. menstruation, menses, menstruum, catamenia, period, flownoun

   the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopause

   "the women were sickly and subject to excessive menstruation"; "a woman does not take the gout unless her menses be stopped"--Hippocrates; "the semen begins to appear in males and to be emitted at the same time of life that the catamenia begin to flow in females"--Aristotle

7. period, point, full stop, stop, full pointnoun

   a punctuation mark (.) placed at the end of a declarative sentence to indicate a full stop or after abbreviations

   "in England they call a period a stop"

GCIDE(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Periodnoun

   (Sports) One of the specified time intervals into which a game is divided; as, there are three periods in a hockey game.

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

2. Periodnoun

   (Education) One of the specified time intervals into which the academic day is divided; as, my calculus class is in the first period.

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

3. Periodnoun

   The time interval during which a woman is menstruating, or the event of a single menstruation; as, her period was late this month.

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. periodnoun

   The length of time for a disease to run its course.

   Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

2. periodnoun

   An end or conclusion; the final point of a process etc.

   Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

3. periodnoun

   A period of time in history seen as a single coherent entity; an epoch, era.

   Food rationing continued in the post-war period.

   Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

4. periodnoun

   A complete sentence, especially one expressing a single thought or making a balanced, rhythmic whole.

   Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

5. periodnoun

   The punctuation mark u201C.u201D (indicating the ending of a sentence or marking an abbreviation).

   Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

6. periodnoun

   A length of time.

   Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

7. periodnoun

   The length of time during which the same characteristics of a periodic phenomenon recur, such as the repetition of a wave or the rotation of a planet.

   Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

8. periodnoun

   A specific moment during a given process; a point, a stage.

   Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

9. periodnoun

   Female menstruation.

   When she is on her period she can be more disagreeable than usual

   Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

10. periodnoun

    A section of an artist's, writer's (etc.) career distinguished by a given quality, preoccupation etc.

    This is one of the last paintings Picasso created during his Blue Period.

    Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

11. periodnoun

    Each of the divisions into which a school day is split, allocated to a given subject or activity.

    I have math class in second period.

    Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

12. periodnoun

    Each of the intervals into which various sporting events are divided.

    Gretzky scored in the last minute of the second period.

    Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

13. periodnoun

    A row in the periodic table of the elements.

    Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

14. periodnoun

    A Drosophila gene which gene product is involved in regulation of the circadian rhythm

    Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

15. periodnoun

    two phrases (an antecedent and a consequent phrase)

    Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

16. periodadjective

    Appropriate for a given historical era.

    Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

17. periodinterjection

    And nothing else; and nothing less; used for emphasis.

    When I say "eat your dinner," it means "eat your dinner," period!

    Etymology: From periode, from periode, from periodus, from περίοδος, from περί- + ὁδός. Displaced native tide, from tid, elde, from ieldu.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Periodnoun

   a portion of time as limited and determined by some recurring phenomenon, as by the completion of a revolution of one of the heavenly bodies; a division of time, as a series of years, months, or days, in which something is completed, and ready to recommence and go on in the same order; as, the period of the sun, or the earth, or a comet

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

2. Periodnoun

   a stated and recurring interval of time; more generally, an interval of time specified or left indefinite; a certain series of years, months, days, or the like; a time; a cycle; an age; an epoch; as, the period of the Roman republic

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

3. Periodnoun

   one of the great divisions of geological time; as, the Tertiary period; the Glacial period. See the Chart of Geology

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

4. Periodnoun

   the termination or completion of a revolution, cycle, series of events, single event, or act; hence, a limit; a bound; an end; a conclusion

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

5. Periodnoun

   a complete sentence, from one full stop to another; esp., a well-proportioned, harmonious sentence

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

6. Periodnoun

   the punctuation point [.] that marks the end of a complete sentence, or of an abbreviated word

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

7. Periodnoun

   one of several similar sets of figures or terms usually marked by points or commas placed at regular intervals, as in numeration, in the extraction of roots, and in circulating decimals

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

8. Periodnoun

   the time of the exacerbation and remission of a disease, or of the paroxysm and intermission

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

9. Periodnoun

   a complete musical sentence

   Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

10. Periodverb

    to put an end to

    Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

11. Periodverb

    to come to a period; to conclude. [Obs.] "You may period upon this, that," etc

    Etymology: [L. periodus, Gr. peri`odos a going round, a way round, a circumference, a period of time; peri` round, about + "odo`s a way: cf. F. priode.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Period

   A geologic period is a time unit subdivision of geologic time defined as a span of years into which the larger era time units are divided into smaller timeframes, as Era's divide the Eon. In the Earth Sciences rocks and especially the sequences of rocks called stratum arrayed in an ordered "rock column" occurring during a timespan are the focus of study so the time units are paired with corresponding Rock strata units whose characteristics define such points elsewhere that occurred concurrently as the local rock layers were laid down as sediments. For the Geological Period the paired rock strata term, a geologic stage is used to denote the corresponding rock layers of both the geologic record and the fossil record; thus the rocks of the Devonian System were laid down during the Devonian Period, and such equivalent units exist at each level of refinement of geological chronology and biogeological or stratigraphic classification. Each unit of strata, no matter how interrupted the record recorded in the local rock column, is mapped into the overall geologic record and classified carefully into chronological units of geologic time based on world wide efforts of the International Commission on Stratigraphy working to correlate the world's local stratigraphic record into one uniform planet wide benchmarked system, in a steady effort ongoing since 1974. While paleontologists often refer to faunal stages rather than geologic periods, they are often used in popular presentations of paleontology or plate reconstructions.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Period

   pē′ri-ud, n. the time in which anything is performed: (astron.) the time occupied by one of the heavenly bodies in making its revolution: a stated interval of time, at the end of which certain events begin again to go through the same course as before: a series of events: a series of years: length of duration: the time at which anything ends: conclusion: (gram.) a mark at the end of a sentence: (rhet.) a complete sentence.—v.t. (Shak.) to put an end to.—adjs. Period′ic, -al, pertaining to a period: happening by revolution: occurring at regular intervals: pertaining to periodicals.—ns. Period′ical, a magazine or other publication which appears in parts at regular periods; Period′icalist, one who writes in a periodical.—adv. Period′ically.—n. Periodic′ity, state of being periodic: tendency to happen over again at regular intervals of time.—Periodical literature, literature published in magazines, &c.; Periodic function, one whose operation being iterated a certain number of times restores the variable: a function having a period; Periodic inequality, a disturbance in the motion of a planet due to its position in its orbit relatively to another planet; Periodic law (chem.), a relation of elements according to their atomic weights. [Fr.,—L.,—Gr. periodos—peri, around, hodos, a way.]

The Standard Electrical Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Period

   The time required for the completion of one complete element of periodic motion. This may be a complete alternation (See Alternation, Complete) of an alternating current, or of an oscillatory discharge.

Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. period

   The time it takes for a satellite to complete one orbit around the earth.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. period

   A specific or known unit of time.

   The governmental period was for a 5yr period.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 20, 2020  

Matched Categories

1. • Discharge
   • Division
   • End
   • Fundamental Quantity
   • Geological Time
   • Hockey
   • Punctuation Mark
   • Time Interval

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'period' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #341

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'period' in Written Corpus Frequency: #746

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'period' in Nouns Frequency: #91

Anagrams for period »

1. dopier

How to pronounce period?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say period in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of period in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of period in Pythagorean Numerology is: 4

Examples of period in a Sentence

1. Bryce Drew:

   You take it hard. But a coach, you don't sleep very well for a long time. So you second-guess everything you do as a coach. As a player, you go out and work harder in the gym. And so for a coach I definitely think there's more of that that sticks with you for a longer period of time.

2. Eswar Prasad:

   The best-case outcome from a Trump-Xi meeting, which seems a dubious proposition at this stage, would be an agreement for the two sides to resume talks, the prospects for even a temporary and limited ceasefire have dissipated and a prolonged period of trade and broader economic tensions between the two countries seems on the cards.

3. Immigration Services Gillian Christensen:

   Parole allows an individual to enter the United States and remain for a temporary period corresponding to the reason parole was approved, parole is not generally authorized for more than one year.

4. Alicia Seah:

   Usually when anything happens in a tour destination, I think the immediate impact is psychological. And I think the short-term impact is that they may avoid visiting the destination for a short period of time.

5. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell:

   As I've said before, the Senate will revisit this important issue over the current work period, we'll give Democrats another opportunity to end their filibuster of funding that's critical to controlling Zika and supporting our veterans.

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