noun
period
PEER-ree-uhd
noun
1
A stretch of time, or a particular era seen as a distinct whole.
"The company grew fast during a five-year period."
"The museum has a wing devoted to the Victorian period."
2
The punctuation mark "." used to end a sentence or mark an abbreviation.
"Don't forget the period at the end of that sentence."
3
A monthly episode of menstruation.
"She was cramping badly on the first day of her period."
4
One of the timed segments a game, class, or match is divided into.
"The hockey game went to a third period before anyone scored."
intj
1
Used to show a statement is final, with nothing more to add.
""I'm not going, period.""
How to Use Period
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA stretch of time, the punctuation mark at the end of a sentence, a monthly menstrual cycle, or a segment of a game — context tells you which.
UK vs US
In British English this punctuation mark is usually called a "full stop"; "period" for it is the standard American term.
Common pairings
a period of time
grace period
have a period
end of period
Word Forms
perioded past tense, periods plural, periods singular
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “period”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
The company grew fast during a five-year _____.
Etymology
From Greek periodos ("a circuit, a recurring interval"), from peri- ("around") + hodos ("way").