year

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Pronunciation

• (RP) IPA: /jɪə/
• (America) enPR: yîr, IPA: /jɪɹ/
• (Scotland, Ireland) IPA: /jir/
• (South Africa) IPA: /jøː/
• (Wales, other regions) IPA: /jɜː/

Etymology 1

From Middle English yeer, yere, from Old English ġēar, from Proto-West Germanic *jār, from Proto-Germanic *jērą, from Proto-Indo-European *yóh₁r̥.

Noun

year (plural years)

1. A period of time akin to the time taken for the Earth to undergo a full cycle of seasons.

   we moved to this town a year ago;  I quit smoking exactly one year ago

   1. The time taken for the Earth to return to the same position along the ecliptic, completing a full cycle of seasons; a tropical year or solar year.
   2. The time taken for the Earth to orbit the Sun with respect to the fixed stars; a sidereal year.
   3. The length of twelve lunations; the time taken for any moon phase to happen twelve times; a lunar year.
   4. The length of a year as marked by a calendar, 365 or 366 days in the Gregorian calendar; a calendar year.
   5. The mean length of a calendar year in the Julian calendar, that is, 365.25 solar days; a Julian year.
2. (by extension) The time it takes for any astronomical object (such as a planet, dwarf planet, small Solar System body, or comet) in direct orbit around a star (such as the Sun) to make one revolution around the star.

   Mars goes around the sun once in a Martian year, or 1.88 Earth years.

3. A period between set dates that mark a year, such as from January 1 to December 31 by the Gregorian calendar, from Tishri 1 to Elul 29 by the Jewish calendar, and from Muharram 1 to Dhu al-Hijjah 29 or 30 by the Islamic calendar.

   A normal year has 365 full days, but there are 366 days in a leap year.

   I was born in the year 1950.

   This Chinese year is the year of the Ox.

4. A scheduled part of a calendar year spent in a specific activity.

   During this school year I have to get up at 6:30 to catch the bus.

   1. A level or grade in school or college.

      Every second-year student must select an area of specialization.

      The exams in year 12 at high school are the most difficult.

5. The proportion of a creature's lifespan equivalent to one year of an average human lifespan (see also dog year).

   Geneticists have created baker's yeast that can live to 800 in yeast years.

Synonyms

• (one revolution of the Sun by the Earth) solar year, equinoctial year, sun, Theban year, twelvemonth, annum
• (time to make one revolution by any body) anomalistic year, galactic year, Gaussian year, Great Year, lunar year, Platonic year, sidereal year, Sothic year, tropical year, annum (sci fi)
• (period between set dates) calendar year, civil year, legal year
• (specific uses) accounting year, base year, dog year, financial year, fiscal year, liturgical year, quality-adjusted life year, school year, tax year

Translations

see year/translations

Noun

1. Pronunciation spelling of here
2. Pronunciation spelling of hear

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