Perseid

American

[pur-see-id] / ˈpɜr si ɪd /

noun

Astronomy.

any of a shower of meteors appearing in August and radiating from a point in the constellation Perseus.

Perseid British

/ ˈpɜːsɪɪd /

noun

any member of a meteor shower occurring annually around August 12th and appearing to radiate from a point in the constellation Perseus

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Perseid

First recorded in 1870–75; Perseus ( def. ) + -id ¹ ( def. ); modeled on Italian Perseidi (plural), a term coined or used by Giovanni Schiaparelli ( def. )

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.

The Perseid meteor shower will peak next week.

From Los Angeles Times

Krupp said the observatory was inundated with questions about how to view the Perseid meteor shower, which peaked overnight and early Wednesday.

From Los Angeles Times

Stargazers will soon be treated to what could be one of the year's most dazzling displays, with the Perseid meteor shower reaching its peak on Tuesday night.

From BBC

“At its best, the Perseid shower delivers between 50 to 100 meteors per hour, but this year far fewer will be seen.”

From Los Angeles Times

Stargazers can cross their fingers for more fireballs, a phenomenon that the Perseid shower is known for, according to NASA.

From Los Angeles Times

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023