periodically
Americanadverb
-
at irregular intervals of time; intermittently.
Internships of various types are available periodically.
You will need to recharge the battery periodically; the recharge interval will vary depending upon use.
-
at regular or somewhat regular intervals of time.
By periodically—perhaps monthly—performing this test, you can quantitatively assess the impact of your training.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of periodically
Explanation
When you do something periodically, you do it either occasionally or at regular intervals. Do you talk to your grandmother once every week or two? Then you can say you call her periodically. It's easy to get to the bottom of periodically by looking at the word period, in its sense of "course or extent of time." When things happen periodically, they occur after a period of time has passed, either a random length of time or a more regular interval: "That bird shows up at my window periodically" or "He periodically opens and closes the blinds just as the sun rises and sets."
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.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has said it would "periodically review" its effectiveness "to ensure that it is fit for purpose".
From BBC • May 13, 2026
“I lost myself,” she says, before picking the dance back up and periodically stopping throughout.
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
Reporting by the BBC has suggested devices can periodically capture screenshots, which are then stored in hidden folders accessible to authorities.
From Barron's • May 5, 2026
"I believe our results help demonstrate the power of Floquet engineering for realizing quantum systems with highly-tunable properties, paving the way for further research into periodically driven quantum matter and the development of its applications."
From Science Daily • May 4, 2026
He refused to accept that Ernest might have participated in Strauss’s campaign against him or engaged in any of the rumormongering about his Communist tendencies that periodically swept the Berkeley campus.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
