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Leonid

American  
[lee-uh-nid] / ˈli ə nɪd /

noun

Astronomy.
  • Leonids,
    plural
  • Leonides
    plural
  1. 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

  1. 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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


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.

See Examples For:

Even after 1964, when Leonid Brezhnev halted reforms, persecuted dissidents and presided over what came to be regarded as “the era of stagnation,” the arbitrary arrests of millions did not resume.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Most of those killed and missing were young women born between 2003 and 2008, according to a list of casualties published by the Moscow-backed governor of occupied Lugansk, Leonid Pasechnik.

From Barron's ● May 24, 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

Initially overjoyed to find him, they now worry about his health: Leonid has paranoid schizophrenia, managed with medication.

From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2025

I guess that was sort of comforting—and I bet it made Leonid Brezhnev tremble in his boots—especially if he really did have it in for Camillo Junior High.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

The 10-year-old kept running out of wreaths and had to ask his father, Leonides Magallonmata, an Army drill sergeant, to return to the truck to get more.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 17, 2022

The epigrams on Leonides and on Marathon are well known.

From The History of Roman Literature From the earliest period to the death of Marcus Aurelius by Charles Thomas Cruttwell

Leonides discouraged these questions and speculations, not, it would seem, because he disapproved of them, but because he sensibly thought them premature in so young a child.

From The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by E. Rameur

Book, under name of Andrew, by Naxochristes and Leonides.

From The Freethinker's Text Book, Part II. Christianity: Its Evidences, Its Origin, Its Morality, Its History by Annie Wood Besant

Leonides, to whom the teachings of Clement had made the Holy Scriptures a very fountain of life and sweetness, made them the principal means of the education of his son.

From The Catholic World; Volume I, Issues 1-6 A Monthly Eclectic Magazine by E. Rameur

Between November 3rd and December 2nd, but especially during the weekend of November 16-17, the Leonids will be unusually easy to see and appreciate, according to the American Meteor Society.

From Salon ● Nov. 15, 2024

They also show up on balmy summer nights, as opposed to the Leonids and Geminids, which arrive in November and December, respectively.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2024

The Leonids are so-called because they appear to originate from the constellation Leo.

From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2023

The Leonids are famous for occasionally producing meteor storms.

From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2022

In about thirty-six million-miles, three weeks after the Leonids, Julia Bishop is coming to visit for her Thanksgiving break from school.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

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