time zone

American  

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 British  

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 Scientific  

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

---

Etymology

Origin of time zone

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Despite the ocean and continent that now separated us, it seemed I was losing Graham more to bad timing than to time zones.

From Los Angeles Times

The tournament will be hosted across 16 cities, spanning four time zones and three countries, at locations up to 2,800 miles apart.

From BBC

The tournament kicks off next June in the US, Canada and Mexico - which feature time zones at least five hours behind the UK.

From BBC

By beginning the series in Perth, in the west-coast time zone, and following with a day-nighter in Brisbane, the series opens with two matches suitable for prime-time TV viewing on the east coast of Australia.

From BBC

And it is difficult to envision Maduro in a place like Turkey, several time zones away from Caracas.

From The Wall Street Journal