year

[ yeer ]

noun

1. a period of 365 or 366 days, in the Gregorian calendar, divided into 12 calendar months, now reckoned as beginning Jan. 1 and ending Dec. 31 calendar year, or civil year. Compare common year, leap year.
2. a period of approximately the same length in other calendars.
3. a space of 12 calendar months calculated from any point:

   This should have been finished a year ago.

4. Astronomy.
   1. Also called lunar year. a division of time equal to 12 lunar months.
   2. tropical year.
   3. sidereal year.
5. the time in which any planet completes a revolution round the sun:

   the Martian year.

6. a full round of the seasons.
7. a period out of every 12 months, devoted to a certain pursuit, activity, or the like:

   the academic year.

8. years,
   1. age.
   2. old age:

      a man of years.

   3. time; period:

      the years of hardship and frustration.

   4. an unusually long period of time of indefinite length:

      I haven't spoken to them in years.

9. a group of students entering school or college, graduating, or expecting to graduate in the same year; class.

year

/ jɪə /

noun

1. Also calledcivil year the period of time, the calendar year , containing 365 days or in a leap year 366 days. It is based on the Gregorian calendar, being divided into 12 calendar months, and is reckoned from January 1 to December 31
2. a period of twelve months from any specified date, such as one based on the four seasons
3. a specific period of time, usually occupying a definite part or parts of a twelve-month period, used for some particular activity

   a school year

4. Also calledastronomical yeartropical year the period of time, the solar year , during which the earth makes one revolution around the sun, measured between two successive vernal equinoxes: equal to 365.242 19 days
5. the period of time, the sidereal year , during which the earth makes one revolution around the sun, measured between two successive conjunctions of a particular distant star: equal to 365.256 36 days
6. the period of time, the lunar year , containing 12 lunar months and equal to 354.3671 days
7. the period of time taken by a specified planet to complete one revolution around the sun

   the Martian year

8. plural age, esp old age

   a man of his years should be more careful

9. plural time

   in years to come

10. a group of pupils or students, who are taught or study together, divided into classes at school

    they are the best year we've ever had for history

11. the year dot informal.
    as long ago as can be remembered
12. year and a day
    English law a period fixed by law to ensure the completion of a full year. It is applied for certain purposes, such as to determine the time within which wrecks must be claimed
13. year in, year out
    regularly or monotonously, over a long period

Usage

In writing spans of years, it is important to choose a style that avoids ambiguity. The practice adopted in this dictionary is, in four-figure dates, to specify the last two digits of the second date if it falls within the same century as the first: 1801–08; 1850–51; 1899–1901 . In writing three-figure bc dates, it is advisable to give both dates in full: 159–156 bc , not 159–56 bc unless of course the span referred to consists of 103 years rather than three years. It is also advisable to specify bc or ad in years under 1000 unless the context makes this self-evident

Other Words From

• multi·year adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of year¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English yeer, Old English gēar; cognate with Dutch jaar, German Jahr, Old Norse ār, Gothic jēr, Greek hôros “year,” hṓrā “season, part of a day, hour”

Word History and Origins

Origin of year¹

Old English gear; related to Gothic jēr, Old Saxon, Old High German jār, Old Norse ār year, Polish jar springtime, Latin hōrnus of this year

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. a year and a day, a period specified as the limit of time in various legal matters, as in determining a right or a liability, to allow for a full year by any way of counting.
2. from the year one, for a very long time; as long as anyone remembers:

   He's been with the company from the year one.

3. year in and year out, regularly through the years; continually: Also year in, year out.

   Year in and year out they went to Florida for the winter.

More idioms and phrases containing year

In addition to the idiom beginning with year , also see all year round ; along in years ; by the day (year) ; donkey's years .

Example Sentences

"I'm proud of him, proud of what he’s achieved and done over the years," Mrs Munford said.

From BBC

"Religious politics over the past few years have chipped away at her legacy and she isn't spoken about as much any more," says journalist Shams Ur Rehman Alavi, who has been researching Bhopal's women rulers.

From BBC

The family - who are part of Afghanistan's Hazara minority - made the difficult journey to Pakistan, where they spent a year before being granted asylum in Canada.

From BBC

There has not been a single UK criminal conviction for violating trade sanctions on Russia, the BBC understands, since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost three years ago.

From BBC

Forty years on from the original recording, the cream of British and Irish pop music past and present are once again asking whether Ethiopians know it is Christmas.

From BBC

Related Words

• age
• date
• day
• era
• future
• generation
• hour
• life
• moment
• month
• occasion
• pace
• past
• point
• present
• season
• second
• space
• stage
• term