time zone

noun

1. one of the 24 regions or divisions of the globe approximately coinciding with meridians at successive hours from the observatory at Greenwich, England.

time zone

noun

1. a region throughout which the same standard time is used. There are 24 time zones in the world, demarcated approximately by meridians at 15° intervals, an hour apart See also zonetime

time zone

1. Any of the 24 divisions of the Earth's surface used to determine the local time for any given locality. Each zone is roughly 15° of longitude in width, with local variations for economic and political convenience. Local time is one hour ahead for each time zone as one travels east and one hour behind for each time zone as one travels west. The International Meridian Conference in 1884 established the prime meridian as the starting point for the 24 zones.

2. See more at International Date Line standard time

Word History and Origins

Origin of time zone¹

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Crossing several time zones this morning: The stage at a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, conference was populated by some of the biggest names in finance.

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Gold hit another record high early Friday, and the chart shows how buying has now picked up across the main three market time zones.

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We are certainly not alone in switching time zones twice a year.

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On Sunday, Nov. 18, 1883, railroad workers and much of the population simultaneously adjusted their watches from local time to one of four standardized time zones created by railroads to ease scheduling.

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"This route has tolls, includes a car transporter train, crosses through France and ends in a different time zone."

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