daylight saving

American  

Or daylight savings

noun

1. the practice of advancing standard time by one hour in the spring of each year and of setting it back by one hour in the fall in order to gain an extra period of daylight during the early evening.

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Etymology

Origin of daylight saving

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

As a result proposals to end the twice-yearly clock change have repeatedly stalled, and there are currently no plans to alter daylight saving in the UK.

From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026

Current federal law does not permit making daylight saving permanent, but it does allow states to opt into permanent standard time — which only Arizona and Hawaii have done.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 7, 2026

In 2018, California voters approved Proposition 7, which would allow the state Legislature to approve either permanent daylight saving time or permanent standard time — eliminating the annual time shifts — with a two-thirds vote.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 1, 2025

Every fall, Americans are plunged into darkness an hour earlier when the clocks turn back at the end of daylight saving time.

From Slate • Oct. 31, 2025

He maintained sagely that there is always a trade-off involved in the adoption of any policy, and that if daylight saving time were instituted, curtains and other fabrics would fade more quickly.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos