period
Other forms: periods
A period is all about defining when something begins and ends. Class periods usually last about forty-five minutes. Following the last food fight, there was a period of relative peace in the school.
You know that dot at the end of a sentence? That's a period too. It means the sentence is over. In sports, games are often divided into playing periods: an ice hockey game, for example, has three periods. If you're a dinosaur buff, you know that this word can also refer to expanses of geologic time. The stegosaurus lived during the Jurassic period, for example, while the Tyrannosaurus rex and triceratops lived during the Cretaceous period.
Definitions of period
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an amount of time“a time period of 30 years”“hastened the period of time of his recovery”“Picasso's blue period”synonyms: period of time, time periodexamples:Bronze Age(archeology) a period between the Stone and Iron Ages, characterized by the manufacture and use of bronze tools and weaponsIron Age(archeology) the period following the Bronze Age; characterized by rapid spread of iron tools and weaponsStone Age(archeology) the earliest known period of human culture, characterized by the use of stone implementsEolithic Agethe earliest part of the Stone Age marked by the earliest signs of human culturePaleolithic Agesecond part of the Stone Age beginning about 750,00 to 500,000 years BC and lasting until the end of the last ice age about 8,500 years BCLower Paleolithicthe oldest part of the Paleolithic Age with the emergence of the hand ax; ended about 120,000 years agoMiddle Paleolithicthe time period of Neanderthal man; ended about 35,000 years BCUpper Paleolithicthe time period during which only modern Homo sapiens was known to have existed; ended about 10,000 years BCEpipaleolithicmiddle part of the Stone Age beginning about 15,000 years agoNeolithic Agelatest part of the Stone Age beginning about 10,000 BC in the Middle East (but later elsewhere)Great Schismthe period from 1378 to 1417 during which there were two papacies in the Roman Catholic Church, one in Rome and one in Avignontypes:time framea time period during which something occurs or is expected to occurhoursan indefinite period of timedowntimea period of time when something (as a machine or factory) is not operating (especially as a result of malfunctions)uptimea period of time when something (as a machine or factory) is functioning and available for usework timea time period when you are required to worktime offa time period when you are not required to workbouta period of illnesstravel timea period of time spent travelingtimesa more or less definite period of time now or previously presenttimean indefinite period (usually marked by specific attributes or activities)elapsed timethe time that elapses while some event is occurringmidweekthe middle of a weekfield daya time of unusual pleasure and successlife, life-time, lifespan, lifetimethe period during which something is functional (as between birth and death)lifethe period between birth and the present timelifethe period from the present until deathoccupationthe period of time during which a place or position or nation is occupiedpasta earlier period in someone's life (especially one that they have reason to keep secret)shelf lifethe length of time a packaged food or drug will last without deterioratingpuerperiumtime period following childbirth when the mother's uterus shrinks and the other functional and anatomic changes of pregnancy are resolvedlactationthe period following birth during which milk is secretedtime of lifea period of time during which a person is normally in a particular life statefestivala day or period of time set aside for feasting and celebrationnightthe time between sunset and midnightnightthe period spent sleepingnighta period of ignorance or backwardness or gloomevethe period immediately before somethingeveningthe early part of night (from dinner until bedtime) spent in a special wayweekenda time period usually extending from Friday night through Sunday; more loosely defined as any period of successive days including one and only one Sundayyearthe period of time that it takes for a planet (as, e.g., Earth or Mars) to make a complete revolution around the sunschool, school day, schooltimethe period of instruction in a school; the time period when school is in sessionyeara period of time occupying a regular part of a calendar year that is used for some particular activitysemesterhalf a year; a period of 6 monthsbimestera period of 2 monthsOlympiadone of the four-year intervals between Olympic Games; used to reckon time in ancient Greece for twelve centuries beginning in 776 BClustruma period of five yearscenturya period of 100 yearsquinquenniuma period of five yearshalf-centurya period of 50 yearsquarter-centurya period of 25 yearsquartera fourth part of a year; three monthsphase of the moona time when the Moon presents a particular recurring appearancedaythe period of time taken by a particular planet (e.g. Mars) to make a complete rotation on its axismid-Januarythe middle part of Januarymid-Februarythe middle part of Februarymid-Marchthe middle part of Marchmid-Aprilthe middle part of Aprilmid-Maythe middle part of Maymid-Junethe middle part of Junemid-Julythe middle part of Julymid-Augustthe middle part of Augustmid-Septemberthe middle part of Septembermid-Octoberthe middle part of Octobermid-Novemberthe middle part of Novembermid-Decemberthe middle part of Decembertime limita time period within which something must be done or completedterma limited period of timetrimestera period of three months; especially one of the three three-month periods into which human pregnancy is dividedhoura special and memorable periodsilly seasona time usually late summer characterized by exaggerated news stories about frivolous matters for want of real newsGolden Age(classical mythology) the first and best age of the world, a time of ideal happiness, prosperity, and innocence; by extension, any flourishing and outstanding periodsilver age(classical mythology) the second age of the world, characterized by opulence and irreligion; by extension, a period secondary in achievement to a golden agebronze age(classical mythology) the third age of the world, marked by war and violenceiron age(classical mythology) the last and worst age of the worldPlatonic year, great yeartime required for one complete cycle of the precession of the equinoxes, about 25,800 yearsregulation time(sports) the normal prescribed duration of a gameseason, time of yearone of the natural periods into which the year is divided by the equinoxes and solstices or atmospheric conditionscanicular days, canicule, dog daysthe hot period between early July and early September; a period of inactivitymidwinterthe middle of winterseasona recurrent time marked by major holidaysseasona period of the year marked by special events or activities in some fieldgenerationthe normal time between successive generationsprehistoric culture, prehistorythe time during the development of human culture before the appearance of the written wordreigna period during which something or somebody is dominant or powerfulrunthe continuous period of time during which something (a machine or a factory) operates or continues in operationdawnan opening time periodeveninga later concluding time periodtimea period of time considered as a resource under your control and sufficient to accomplish somethinglease, term of a contractthe period of time during which a contract conveying property to a person is in effecthalf life, half-lifethe time required for something to fall to half its initial value (in particular, the time for half the atoms in a radioactive substance to disintegrate)multistageoccurring in more than one stagewatchthe period during which someone (especially a guard) is on dutypeacetimea period of time during which there is no warwartimea period of time during which there is armed conflictduty tour, enlistment, hitch, term of enlistment, tour, tour of dutya period of time spent in military servicehoneymoonthe early (usually calm and harmonious) period of a relationship; business or politicalindictiona 15-year cycle used as a chronological unit in ancient Rome and adopted in some medieval kingdomsprohibition, prohibition erathe period from 1920 to 1933 when the sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited in the United States by a constitutional amendmentincubation periodthe period between infection and the appearance of symptoms of the diseaserainy daya (future) time of financial needbloom, blossom, efflorescence, flower, flush, heyday, peak, primethe period of greatest prosperity or productivityclotting timethe time it takes for a sample of blood to clot; used to diagnose some clotting disordersair alertthe time period during which military and civilian agencies are prepared for an enemy air attackquestion timea period during a parliamentary session when members of British Parliament may ask questions of the ministersreal time(computer science) the time it takes for a process under computer control to occurreal timethe actual time that it takes a process to occurstudy halla period of time during the school day that is set aside for studyusancethe period of time permitted by commercial usage for the payment of a bill of exchange (especially a foreign bill of exchange)windowthe time period that is considered best for starting or finishing somethinglimboa period of prolonged uncertaintyvintagethe period or time when something was produceddiakinesisthe final stage of the prophase of meiosisdiplotenethe fourth stage of the prophase of meiosisleptotenethe first stage of the prophase of meiosispachytenethe third stage of the prophase of meiosisphase of cell divisiona stage in meiosis or mitosiszygotenethe second stage of the prophase of meiosis24/7uptime is 24 hours a day 7 days a weekhoursa period of time assigned for workface timework time spent at the location of or in the presence of other peoplecompensatory timetime off that is granted to a worker as compensation for working overtimecontemporary world, modern times, modern world, present timesthe circumstances and ideas of the present ageRoman timesthe time period during which Rome dominated Europedaysome point or period in timedeada time when coldness (or some other quality associated with death) is intensehard timesa time of difficultyincarnationtime passed in a particular bodily formOWLT, one-way light timethe elapsed time it takes for light (or radio signals) to travel between the Earth and a celestial objectRTLT, round-trip light timethe elapsed time it takes for a signal to travel from Earth to a spacecraft (or other body) and back to the starting pointclockingthe time taken to traverse a measured courselongueura period of dullness or boredom (especially in a work of literature or performing art)residence timethe period of time spent in a particular placespanthe complete duration of somethingtime scalean arrangement of events used as a measure of durationdaythe recurring hours when you are not sleeping (especially those when you are working)overtimework done in addition to regular working hoursday offa day when you are not required to worksummerthe period of finest development, happiness, or beautyage, elda time of life (usually defined in years) at which some particular qualification or power arisesneonatal periodthe first 28 days of lifeanal phase, anal stage(psychoanalysis) the second sexual and social stage of a child's development during which bowel control is learnedgenital phase, genital stage(psychoanalysis) the fifth sexual and social stage in a person's development occurring during adolescence; interest focuses on sexual activitylatency period, latency phase, latency stage(psychoanalysis) the fourth period (from about age 5 or 6 until puberty) during which sexual interests are supposed to be sublimated into other activitiesoral phase, oral stage(psychoanalysis) the first sexual and social stage of an infant's development; the mouth is the focus of the libido and satisfaction comes from suckling and chewing and bitingphallic phase, phallic stage(psychoanalysis) the third stage in a child's development when awareness of and manipulation of the genitals is supposed to be a primary source of pleasurechildhoodthe time of person's life when they are a childyouththe time of life between childhood and maturityadolescencethe time period between the beginning of puberty and adulthoodprepubertya period of two years immediately prior to the onset of puberty when growth and changes leading to sexual maturity occurteensthe time of life between the ages of 12 and 201900sthe decade from 1900 to 19091530sthe decade from 1530 to 15391820sthe decade from 1820 to 18291830sthe decade from 1830 to 18391840sthe decade from 1840 to 18491850sthe decade from 1850 to 18591750sthe decade from 1750 to 17591860sthe decade from 1860 to 18691760sthe decade from 1760 to 1769golden yearsthe time of life after retirement from active work1870sthe decade from 1870 to 18791770sthe decade from 1770 to 17791780sthe decade from 1780 to 17891790sthe decade from 1790 to 1799adulthood, maturitythe period of time in your life after your physical growth has stopped and you are fully developedbachelorhoodthe time of a man's life prior to marriagemiddle agethe time of life between youth and old age (e.g., between 40 and 60 years of age)widowhoodthe time of a woman's life when she is a widowdeathbedthe last few hours before deathdaya day assigned to a particular purpose or observancedatethe particular day, month, or year (usually according to the Gregorian calendar) that an event occurredday of the weekany one of the seven days in a weekafternoonthe part of the day between noon and eveningmidafternoonthe middle part of the afternooneve, even, evening, eventidethe latter part of the day (the period of decreasing daylight from late afternoon until nightfall)weeknightany night of the week except Saturday or Sundayweek from Mondaya time period of a week or morerag, rag weeka week at British universities during which side-shows and processions of floats are organized to raise money for charitiesChristian year, church yearthe year in the ecclesiastical calendar; especially feast days and special seasonsRevolutionary calendar montha month in the Revolutionary calendarHoly Year(Roman Catholic Church) a period of remission from sin (usually granted every 25 years)New Yearthe calendar year just begunMichaelmastidethe season of MichaelmasLammastidethe season of LammasEastertidethe Easter seasonTwelfthtidethe season of EpiphanyAllhallowtidethe season of All Saints' DayChristmas, Christmastide, Christmastime, Noel, Yule, Yuletideperiod extending from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6anomalistic yeartime of the earth's revolution from perihelion to perihelion again; 365 days and 6 hr and 13 min and 53.1 sec366 days, bissextile year, intercalary year, leap yearin the Gregorian calendar, a year with 366 days that occurs every four years with February 29 being the extra dayoff yeara year in which no major political elections are heldoff yeara year in which productivity is low or inferiorcalendar year, civil yearthe year (reckoned from January 1 to December 31) according to Gregorian calendarastronomical year, equinoctial year, solar year, tropical yearthe time for the earth to make one revolution around the sun, measured between two vernal equinoxeslunar yeara period of 12 lunar monthsacademic year, school yearthe period of time each year when the school is open and people are studyingannum(Latin) yearquattrocentothe 15th century in Italian art and literaturetwentieth centurythe century from 1901 to 2000new moon, new phase of the moonthe phase in which the moon is in conjunction with sun and is invisible or appears as a narrow waxing crescenthalf-moonthe time at which the Moon is at first or last quarter when half its face is illuminatedfull, full moon, full phase of the moon, full-of-the-moonthe time when the Moon is fully illuminatedlunar daythe period of time taken for the moon to make one full rotation on its axis (about 27.3 sidereal days)sidereal yearthe time for the earth to make one complete revolution around the sun, relative to the fixed starsGregorian calendar montha month in the Gregorian calendarJewish calendar montha month in the Jewish calendarIslamic calendar monthany lunar month in the Muslim calendarHindu calendar monthany lunisolar month in the Hindu calendarwedding nightthe night after the wedding when bride and groom sleep togetherlimitation(law) a time period after which suits cannot be broughtfirst trimestertime period extending from the first day of the last menstrual period through 12 weeks of gestationsecond trimestertime period extending from the 13th to the 27th week of gestationthird trimestertime period extending from the 28th week of gestation until deliveryextra inningsovertime play until one team is ahead at the end of an inning; e.g. baseballovertime perioda period of overtime play to resolve a tie; e.g. basketballtiebreakerovertime play in order to break a tie; e.g. tennis and soccersudden death(sports) overtime in which play is stopped as soon as one contestant scores; e.g. football and golfsummer, summertimethe warmest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinoxwinter, wintertimethe coldest season of the year; in the northern hemisphere it extends from the winter solstice to the vernal equinoxgrowing seasonthe season during which a crop grows bestseedtimethe time during which seeds should be plantedsheepshearingthe time or season when sheep are shearedholiday seasona time when many people take holidaysoff-seasonthe season when travel is least active and rates are lowestrainy seasonone of the two seasons in tropical climatesdry seasonone of the two seasons in tropical climatespreseasona period prior to the beginning of the regular season which is devoted to training and preparationbaseball seasonthe season when baseball is playedbasketball seasonthe season when basketball is playedexhibition seasonthe time before the regular games begin when football or baseball teams play practice gamesfishing seasonthe season during which it is legal to catch fishfootball seasonthe season when football is playedhockey seasonthe season when hockey is playedhunting seasonthe season during which it is legal to kill a particular speciessocial seasonthe season for major social eventstheatrical seasonthe season when new plays are producedAdventthe season including the four Sundays preceding ChristmasShrovetideimmediately preceding LentWhitsun, Whitsuntide, WhitweekChristian holiday; the week beginning on Whitsunday (especially the first 3 days)month of Sundaysa time perceived as longblue moona long timeyear dotas long ago as anyone can rememberweea short timebout, patch, piece, spell, whilea period of indeterminate length (usually short) marked by some action or conditionephemerasomething transitory; lasting a daydayan era of existence or influenceyear of graceany year of the Christian eraY2Kthe year 2000 in the Gregorian calendarchapterany distinct period in history or in a person's lifemodern erathe present or recent timesreign of terrorany period of brutal suppression thought to resemble the Reign of Terror in Francerun-time(computer science) the length of time it takes to execute a software programspace agethe age beginning with the first space travel; from 1957 to the presentbeauty sleepsleep before midnightkipsleepincubation(pathology) the phase in the development of an infection between the time a pathogen enters the body and the time the first symptoms appearfertile period, fertile phasethe time in the menstrual cycle when fertilization is most likely to be possible (7 days before to 7 days after ovulation)menstrual phasethe phase of the menstrual cycle during which the lining of the uterus is shed (the first day of menstrual flow is considered day 1 of the menstrual cycle)musthan annual phase of heightened sexual excitement in the males of certain large mammals (especially elephants); is associated with discharge from a gland between the eye and earluteal phase, secretory phasethe second half of the menstrual cycle after ovulation; the corpus luteum secretes progesterone which prepares the endometrium for the implantation of an embryo; if fertilization does not occur then menstrual flow beginsgenerationa stage of technological development or innovationseedtimeany time of new developmentgolden agea time period when some activity or skill was at its peakrulethe duration of a monarch's or government's powersafe periodthat time during a woman's menstrual cycle during which conception is least likely to occur (usually immediately before of after menstruation)shibah, shiva, shivah(Judaism) a period of seven days of mourning after the death of close relativeprobationa trial period during which an offender has time to redeem himself or herselfprobationa trial period during which your character and abilities are tested to see whether you are suitable for work or for membershiptype of:fundamental measure, fundamental quantityone of the four quantities that are the basis of systems of measurement
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the interval taken to complete one cycle of a regularly repeating phenomenontypes:orbit periodthe time it takes to complete one full orbit around a celestial bodytype of:
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a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks formedsynonyms: geological periodexamples:Quaternary periodthe period of geologic time starting about 2.6 million years ago; the current Cenozoic periodTertiary periodthe period of the Cenozoic era from approximately 66 to 2.6 million years agoCretaceous periodthe period of geologic time from about 145 to 66 million years ago; the last period of the Mesozoic eraJurassic periodthe period of geologic time from approximately 201 to 145 million years ago; the first period of the Mesozoic eraTriassic periodthe period of geologic time from approximately 252 to 201 million years ago; the first period of the Mesozoic eraPermian periodthe period of geologic time from about 299 to 252 million years ago, the seventh and final period of the Paleozoic eraCarboniferous periodfrom 345 million to 280 million years agoUpper Carboniferous periodthe period of geologic time from about 323 to 299 million years ago; the sixth period of the Paleozoic eraLower Carboniferous periodthe period of geologic time from about 359 to 323 million years ago; the fifth period of the Paleozoic eraDevonian periodthe period of geologic time from about 419 to 359 million years ago; the fourth period of the Paleozoic eraSilurian periodthe period of geologic time from about 444 to 419 million years ago; the third period of the Paleozoic eraOrdovician periodthe period of geologic time from about 485 to 444 million years ago; the second period of the Paleozoic eraCambrian periodthe period of geologic time from about 541 to 485 million years ago; the first period of the Paleozoic eratypes:glacial epoch, glacial period, ice ageany period of time during which glaciers covered a large part of the earth's surfacetype of:geologic time, geological timethe time of the physical formation and development of the earth (especially prior to human history)
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one of the divisions of a school day
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(ice hockey) one of three divisions into which play is divided in hockey games
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the monthly discharge of blood from the uterus of nonpregnant women from puberty to menopausesynonyms: catamenia, flow, menses, menstruation, menstruumtypes:hypermenorrhea, menorrhagiaabnormally heavy or prolonged menstruation; can be a symptom of uterine tumors and can lead to anemia if prolongedoligomenorrheaabnormally light or infrequent menstruation
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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”synonyms: full point, full stop, point, stoptypes:suspension point(usually plural) one of a series of points indicating that something has been omitted or that the sentence is incompletetype of:punctuation, punctuation markthe marks used to clarify meaning by indicating separation of words into sentences and clauses and phrases
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the end or completion of something
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