period

[ peer-ee-uhd ]

noun

1. a rather large interval of time that is meaningful in the life of a person, in history, etc., because of its particular characteristics:

   a period of illness; a period of great profitability for a company; a period of social unrest in Germany.

2. any specified division or portion of time:

   poetry of the period from 1603 to 1660.

   Synonyms: term

3. a round of time or series of years by which time is measured.
4. a round of time marked by the recurrence of some phenomenon or occupied by some recurring process or action.
5. the point of completion of a round of time or of the time during which something lasts or happens.
6. Education. a specific length of time during school hours that a student spends in a classroom, laboratory, etc., or has free.
7. any of the parts of equal length into which a game is divided.
8. the time during which something runs its course.
9. the present time.
10. the point or character (.) used to mark the end of a declarative sentence, indicate an abbreviation, etc.; full stop.
11. a full pause, as is made at the end of a complete sentence; full stop.
12. a sentence, especially a well-balanced, impressive sentence:

    the stately periods of Churchill.

13. a periodic sentence.
14. an occurrence of menstruation.
15. a time of the month during which menstruation occurs.
16. Geology. the basic unit of geologic time, during which a standard rock system is formed: comprising two or more epochs and included with other periods in an era.
17. Physics. the duration of one complete cycle of a wave or oscillation; the reciprocal of the frequency.
18. Music. a division of a composition, usually a passage of eight or sixteen measures, complete or satisfactory in itself, commonly consisting of two or more contrasted or complementary phrases ending with a conclusive cadence; sentence ( def 3 ).
19. Astronomy.
    1. Also called period of rotation. the time in which a body rotates once on its axis.
    2. Also called period of revolution. the time in which a planet or satellite revolves once about its primary.
20. Mathematics. periodic15
21. Classical Prosody. a group of two or more cola.

adjective

1. noting, pertaining to, evocative of, imitating, or representing a historical period or the styles current during a specific period of history:

   period costumes; a period play.

interjection

1. (used by a speaker or writer to indicate that a decision is irrevocable or that a point is no longer discussable):

   I forbid you to go, period.

period

/ ˈpɪərɪəd /

noun

1. a portion of time of indefinable length

   he spent a period away from home

2. 1. a portion of time specified in some way

      the Arthurian period

      Picasso's blue period

   2. ( as modifier )

      period costume

3. a nontechnical name for an occurrence of menstruation
4. geology a unit of geological time during which a system of rocks is formed

   the Jurassic period

5. a division of time, esp of the academic day
6. physics maths
   1. the time taken to complete one cycle of a regularly recurring phenomenon; the reciprocal of frequency T
   2. an interval in which the values of a periodic function follow a certain pattern that is duplicated over successive intervals

      sin x = sin (x + 2π), where 2π is the period

7. astronomy
   1. the time required by a body to make one complete rotation on its axis
   2. the time interval between two successive maxima or minima of light variation of a variable star
8. See group
   chem one of the horizontal rows of elements in the periodic table. Each period starts with an alkali metal and ends with a rare gas Compare group
9. Also calledfull stop the punctuation mark (.) used at the end of a sentence that is not a question or exclamation, after abbreviations, etc
10. a complete sentence, esp a complex one with several clauses
11. Also calledsentence music a passage or division of a piece of music, usually consisting of two or more contrasting or complementary musical phrases and ending on a cadence
12. (in classical prosody) a unit consisting of two or more cola
13. rare.
    a completion or end

period

/ pĭr′ē-əd /

1. A division of geologic time that is longer than an epoch and shorter than an era.
2. The duration of one cycle of a regularly recurring action or event.
3. See also cycle
4. An occurrence of menstruation.
5. In the Periodic Table, any of the seven horizontal rows that contain elements arranged in order of increasing atomic number. All the elements in a particular period have the same number of electron shells in their atoms, equal to the number of the period. Thus, atoms of nickel, copper, and zinc, in period four, each have four electron shells.
6. See Periodic Table

period

1. A punctuation mark (.) that ends a declarative sentence . A period is also used in abbreviations such as Mr. and Dr.

Other Words From

• sub·peri·od noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of period¹

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English periode, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin periodus, from Latin, from Greek períodos “circuit, length of time,” literally, “way around”; equivalent to peri- + -ode ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of period¹

C14 peryod, from Latin periodus, from Greek periodos circuit, from peri- + hodos way

Synonym Study

See age.

Example Sentences

There is no requirement that the names of geological periods correspond to the contents of their strata.

From Nautilus

This data goes back to mid July for this chart but you can run it for a longer period of time if you’re curious.

From Search Engine Land

Wearables revenue was up 23% year on year in the second quarter of 2020, while iPhone revenue dropped 7% for the same period.

From Fortune

At the moment, the database encompasses some 1,300 cases, stretching over a period that begins in 1982.

From ProPublica

Overall, Eastern Europe accounted for 12% of global cryptocurrency activity in the period.

From Fortune

Unlike the Soviet Union at a certain period in history, the Russian economy does not hold a candle to that of the United States.

From The Daily Beast

The detectives are still at it, seeking to account for a period of time when Brinsley may well have paused to sit somewhere.

From The Daily Beast

The idea that January 1st initiates a period of new beginning is not a flash of Hallmark brilliance.

From The Daily Beast

The FCC investigation recently closed its comment period on the Marriott case.

From The Daily Beast

Neither could her three-week, multi-thousand dollar stay, which was supposed to be a recovery period.

From The Daily Beast

The reformers of the earlier period were not indifferent to the need for centralized organization in the banking system.

From Project Gutenberg

Tobacco at this period was also rolled up in the leaves of the Palm and smoked.

From Project Gutenberg

She did her work at a most interesting period in Dutch painting.

From Project Gutenberg

(p. 054) At this period it appears that tobacco was used as money, and as the measure of price and value.

From Project Gutenberg

At this period it brought enormous prices, the finest selling at from fifteen to eighteen shillings per pound.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• age
• course
• cycle
• date
• duration
• era
• season
• span
• stage
• stretch
• term
• time

More About Period

What is a basic definition of period?

A period is a punctuation symbol that is used to end most sentences. A period is also a specified length of time or a length of time where something important happened or a trend occurred. Period has many other senses as a noun, an adjective, and an interjection.

A period is a major punctuation mark used in English that resembles a dot, like the dot at the end of this sentence. A period is used to end any sentence that isn’t a question (which uses a question mark) or an exclamation (which uses an exclamation point) or that trails off using an ellipsis. Periods are also used in abbreviations, such as Mrs. or Dr.

Real-life examples: This sentence ends in a period. This sentence also ends in a period. Most of the sentences you read, such as this one, end in periods.

Used in a sentence: In English, we use periods to end most sentences. 

The word period is also used to refer to a length of time where something important happened or was defined by something memorable.

Real-life examples: A person may experience a period of illness. A business may go through a period where it didn’t make much money. For most people, the teenage years are a rebellious period of their life.

Used in a sentence: Stores always experience a period of increased business during the holidays. 

The word period can also be used to refer to any designated length of time.

Used in a sentence: He likes to read books about the Medieval period. 

The word period can refer to a length of time where some distinctive phenomena or trend happened.

Real-life example: The Renaissance period of European history had a distinct trend of creativity in art and culture.

Used in a sentence: She is an expert in literature from the Victorian period.

Where does period come from?

The first records of the term period come from around 1375. It ultimately comes from the Greek períodos, meaning “a circuit” or “a period of time.”

Period also refers to an instance of menstruation.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to period?

• subperiod (noun)

What are some synonyms for period?

• age
• era
• stretch
• duration
• term
• season

What are some words that share a root or word element with period? 

• periodic
• periodical

What are some words that often get used in discussing period?

• class
• piece
• grace
• long
• extended
• menstrual

How is period used in real life?

Period is a very common word that often refers to lengths of time.

In my 20 years of trading, I have not witnessed this increase in prices within such a short period of time. Goods i placed order for in a particular company on the 30th of October has not been supplied to my warehouse and there has been two price increment within the period!

— Aisha Yesufu (@AishaYesufu) November 24, 2020

Depressing thought : You will never live in the Japanese Edo period

— Joos (@inVeritat) November 17, 2020

Blessed are students who put periods and commas inside of quotation marks.

— Christopher Bishop (@Chris_Bishop) September 25, 2020

 

 

Try using period!

Which of the following sentences ends in a period?

A. What time is it?
B. I am a good listener.
C. Look at that!
D. It is too quiet here …