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.

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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

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• Leonides
  plural
• Leonids
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Leonid

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

Example Sentences

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 the Lugansk region, Leonid Pasechnik.

From Barron's • May 23, 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

Every November the Earth passes through the debris of Comet Tempel-Tuttle, which gives us the Leonid shower.

From BBC • Nov. 17, 2024

Leonid Kvasnikov, who ran the KGB office in New York City, compared the documents from Fuchs and Hall.

From "Bomb" by Steve Sheinkin