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leap day

American  

noun

  • leap days
    plural
  1. February 29: the extra day added to the Gregorian calendar in leap year.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of leap day

First recorded in 1590–1600


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.

See Examples For:

To keep the calendar aligned with the Earth's orbit we add a leap day in every four years to make up for this difference.

From BBC ● Jun. 16, 2026

He was the guy who started the initial leap day business, in something like 46 B.C.

From New York Times ● Feb. 29, 2024

That means couples who take the plunge on leap day can celebrate their wedding anniversary every four years, just in time for the Summer Olympics and presidential elections.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 28, 2024

The current Gregorian calendar system makes the fractional days of the solar year and leap year calendar nearly equal by occasionally skipping a leap day.

From National Geographic ● Feb. 26, 2024

Three hundred and sixty-six, if you count leap day.

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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