month

[muhnth]

noun

1. Also called calendar month. any of the twelve parts, as January or February, into which the calendar year is divided.

2. the time from any day of one calendar month to the corresponding day of the next.

3. a period of four weeks or 30 days.

4. Also called solar month. one-twelfth of a solar or tropical year.

5. Also called lunar month. the period of a complete revolution of the moon around the earth, as the period between successive new moons synodic month, equal to 29.531 days, or the period between successive conjunctions with a star sidereal month, equal to 27.322 days, or the period between successive perigees anomalistic month, equal to 27.555 days, or the period between successive similar nodes nodical month, or draconic month, equal to 27.212 days.

6. an unusually long period of time of indefinite length.

   I haven't seen him for months.

month

/ mʌnθ /

noun

1. one of the twelve divisions ( calendar months ) of the calendar year

2. a period of time extending from one date to a corresponding date in the next calendar month

3. a period of four weeks or of 30 days

4. the period of time ( tropical month ) taken by the moon to return to the same longitude after one complete revolution around the earth; 27.321 58 days (approximately 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, 4.5 seconds)

5. the period of time ( sidereal month ) taken by the moon to make one complete revolution around the earth, measured between two successive conjunctions with a distant star; 27.321 66 days (approximately 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, 11 seconds)

6. Also called: lunation. the period of time ( lunar or synodic month ) taken by the moon to make one complete revolution around the earth, measured between two successive new moons; 29.530 59 days (approximately 29 days, 12 hours, 44 minutes, 3 seconds)

7. informal,  a long unspecified period

Word History and Origins

Origin of month¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English mōnath; cognate with Old High German mānōd, Old Norse mānathr. See moon

Word History and Origins

Origin of month¹

Old English mōnath; related to Old High German mānōd, Old Norse mānathr; compare Gothic mena moon

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. a month of Sundays. Sunday.

More idioms and phrases containing month

• (for months) on end
• by the day (month)

Example Sentences

"It's a natural business conflict. Nothing wrong with it. I think we've come a long way over the last few months."

From BBC

It seems everyone’s playing the game better than he is, and after months of toiling in unemployment hell, Man-su devises a plan to get rid of his competition by killing off the most appealing candidates.

From Salon

And, just this month, the iconic Coney Beach Amusement Park in Porthcawl, a coastal fun fixture for over a century, closed its gates for the final time.

From BBC

The government also holds little sway in the southern province of Suweida, where tensions with the predominantly Druze population have remained high since the sectarian violence there three months ago.

From BBC

The leaders who have been calling on Macron to resign for months are on the hard right and radical left.

From BBC

Related Words

• age 
• date 
• day 
• era 
• future 
• generation 
• hour 
• life 
• moment 
• occasion 
• pace 
• past 
• point 
• present 
• season 
• second 
• space 
• stage 
• term 
• turn