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year

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noun British English pronunciation: year /jɪə(r)/ 
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singularyear
pluralyears
  1. 1
    [countable] a period of 365 days, or 366 in a leap year, divided into 12 months

    He lived in Paris for a few years.

    I started my job two years ago.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  yearThesaurus entry for this meaning of year
    1. a.
      used for talking about age
      years old:

      Their house is only five years old.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  yearThesaurus entry for this meaning of year
    2. b.
      used about a particular period of time, beginning on 1 January and ending on 31 December, or between the first and last dates on some other calendar

      We’re hoping to have the house sold by the end of the year.

      They’re showing two films from the year 1977.

      last/next year (=the year before or after the present year):

      Profits are lower than last year.

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  yearThesaurus entry for this meaning of year
    3. c.
      used about the period during which an institution operates, or about the system that it uses for dividing time

      the first weeks of the new school year

      the financial/fiscal/tax year:

      a budget for the fiscal year 2002

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  yearThesaurus entry for this meaning of year
  2. 2

    years

     [plural] a very long time

    It wasn’t until years later that I realized how foolish I’d been.

    for years:

    He hasn’t been back to the country for years.

    Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  yearThesaurus entry for this meaning of year
    1. a.
      used about a particular period of time in history

      Conditions were very different in the postwar years (=the period after the war).

      Thesaurus entry for this meaning of  yearThesaurus entry for this meaning of year

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

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