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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:

Its owner Leonid Radvinsky, who died earlier this year aged 43, bought the site from its British founders in 2018.

From BBC Aug. 25, 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

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

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

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 had a son named Origen, whom he had brought up very carefully, and had taught to get some part of the Bible by heart every day.

From Sketches of Church History From A.D. 33 to the Reformation by James Craigie Robertson

I also see a great deal of Epicrates the leading man at Athens, and Leonides, and people of that sort.

From Social life at Rome in the Age of Cicero by W. Warde Fowler

With regard to cancer, he quotes from Archigenes and Leonides.

From Old-Time Makers of Medicine The Story of The Students And Teachers of the Sciences Related to Medicine During the Middle Ages by James Joseph Walsh

When the Leonids fly across the sky, stargazers know that the comet 55P/Tempel-Tuttle is nearby.

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 - one of the most prolific annual meteor showers - will be streaking across UK skies in the early hours of Saturday and Sunday.

From BBC Nov. 16, 2023

The American Meteor Society notes that some astronomers think the Earth may go through a heavier-than-expected dusty trail for this year’s Leonids, and gazers may be treated to more than 50 meteors an hour.

From Washington Post Oct. 28, 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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