period

- definition

What are red words?

90% of the time, speakers of English use just 7,500 words in speech and writing. These words appear in red, and are graded with stars. One-star words are frequent, two-star words are more frequent, and three-star words are the most frequent.

Thesaurus

The thesaurus of synonyms and related words is fully integrated into the dictionary entries. Click on the T button in an entry to review the synonyms and related words for that meaning.

noun [countable] British English pronunciation: period

/ˈpɪəriəd/

singular	period
plural	periods

Other entries for this word

Related dictionary definitions

1
an amount of time during which something happens
The long dry period ended with torrential rain.
period of:
A decision has to be made within a period of three months.
period of time:
They reached these conclusions in a relatively short period of time.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of period
1. a.
  a particular amount of time in history
  Their collection is confined solely to the Roman period.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of period
2. b.
  a particular part of someone's life or career
  This is described as the artist's angry period.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of period
3. c.
  a division in a school day when a particular subject is taught
  They have another period of science this afternoon.
  Thesaurus entry for this meaning of period
2
the time about once a month when a woman who is not pregnant menstruates (=loses blood)
I realized I might be pregnant when I missed my period.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of period
3
spoken used for emphasis to show that there is no more to be said about something
You are not going out tonight, period.
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of period
4
American a full stop¹
Thesaurus entry for this meaning of period

This is the British English definition of period. View American English definition of period.

Change your default dictionary and thesaurus to American English.

View the pronunciation for period.

caxirola

a percussion instrument used by football fans which makes a rattling sound when shaken

BuzzWord Article

More BuzzWords

BuzzWord archive

Word of the Day

emancipation

the process of giving freedom and rights to someone

Open Dictionary

pierce the corporate veil

… the decision to treat the rights and duties of a company as being the same as the rights and duties of its shareholders

add a word

More submissions

view entries

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog