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.
Stress constantly builds in the region and is periodically released through earthquakes.
From Science Daily • May 19, 2026
The low-income exemption, or the $150,000 exemption, is available to fully disabled veterans whose annual household income does not exceed a specified amount — currently $81,131 — that is adjusted periodically for inflation.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 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
Summers-Smith's case will be periodically reviewed by the Mental Health Review Tribunal, who will monitor any potential recovery and have the power to revise his detention order.
From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026
Soon we saw the entire plain full of Indians, halting periodically to wait for more Indians who kept filing out of the camp behind them.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
