Leonid

American

[lee-uh-nid] / ˈli ə nɪd /

noun

Astronomy.

plural

Leonids, Leonides

any of a shower of meteors occurring around November 15 and appearing to radiate from a point in the constellation Leo.

Leonid British

/ ˈliːənɪd /

noun

any member of a meteor shower that is usually insignificant, but more spectacular every 33 years, and occurs annually in mid-November, appearing to radiate from a point in the constellation Leo

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Leonid

1875–80; < New Latin Leonidēs, equivalent to Latin Leōn- (stem of Leō ) Leo + -idēs -id ¹

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.

As he worked his way in closer, Mercader reported to Leonid Eitignon, a Soviet spymaster who “always appeared to be in control. A glass of cognac would last him an entire evening.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026

In the early 1980s, however, the leaders of the two superpowers of that time, Soviet Premier Leonid Brezhnev and President Ronald Reagan, teamed up to drive a knife through that particular fantasy.

From Salon • Nov. 10, 2025

"He told me that he'd been in awful conditions," Anna remembers talking to Leonid that day.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2025

Over the months, Leonid had been held and interrogated in multiple locations.

From BBC • Jan. 31, 2025

The Leonid meteor shower is coming soon, as the knackery renders comet Tempel-Tuttle into something else, and something else again.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023