- 1
A length of time.
- There was a period of confusion following the announcement.
- You'll be on probation for a six-month period.
- 2
A length of time in history seen as a single coherent entity; an epoch, era.
- Food rationing continued in the post-war period.
- 3
The punctuation mark “.” (indicating the ending of a sentence or marking an abbreviation).CanadaPhilippinesUS
- ‘You know, a period? The black spot at the end of a sentence — what do you call them over there?’
- 4
A decisive end to something; a stop.figuratively
- My sufferings, physical and mental, are more than I can bear, and when such small arrangements as I have to make for your future well-being are completed it is my intention to put a period to them.
- 5
The length of time during which the same characteristics of a periodic phenomenon recur, such as the repetition of a wave or the rotation of a planet.
- 6
Female menstruation; an episode of this.euphemistic
- When she is on her period, she prefers not to go swimming.
- 7
Female menstruation; an episode of this.; The set of symptoms associated with menstruation, even if not accompanied by menstruation; an episode of these symptoms.euphemistic
- 8
A section of an artist's, writer's (etc.) career distinguished by a given quality, preoccupation etc.
- This is one of the last paintings Picasso created during his Blue Period.
- 9
Each of the divisions into which a school day is split, allocated to a given subject or activity.
- I have math class in second period.
- 10
Each of the intervals, typically three, of which a game is divided.
- Gretzky scored in the last minute of the second period.
syn. duration · interval · period · period of time · tide · time · time interval · time period · timespan · space · span · stound
ant. frequency