year
yeer
Year (noun) means the time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun once, about 365 days. Example: “Our village holds a fair once a year in the park.”
noun
1
The time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun once, about 365 days.
"Our village holds a fair once a year in the park."
"Last year the garden grew far more tomatoes than we could eat."
"They celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary this year."
2
A twelve-month period as marked on a calendar, from January to December.
"She set a new savings goal for the coming year."
"The shop closes for repairs at the end of the year."
"Every year in January, we make a list of resolutions."
3
A specific grade or level in school.
"He's in year seven at his new school."
"My cousin is in year ten and has exams soon."
"All the students in year three went on a trip to the farm."
How to use year
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishThe 12-month period it takes Earth to go around the Sun, or a stage in schooling.
Common pairings
this year
next year
school year
a year ago
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Word forms
- Plural
- years
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Our village holds a fair once a _____ in the park.
Etymology
From Old English ġēar, from a very old Germanic and Indo-European root meaning "year" or "spring" — a distant cousin of the words "hora" and "hour."
Synonyms
View more →
twelve months
calendar year
annum
accounting year
base year
dog year
financial year
fiscal year
liturgical year
quality-adjusted life year
school year
tax year
Related words
Rhymes for year
See all rhymes for year →Frequently asked questions
What does “year” mean?
The word “year” means the time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun once, about 365 days. In plain terms, the 12-month period it takes Earth to go around the Sun, or a stage in schooling.
How do you pronounce “year”?
“Year” is pronounced yeer (/jɪɹ/ in IPA).
How do you use “year” in a sentence?
Here is “year” used in a sentence: “They celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary this year.”
What is another word for “year”?
Words with a similar meaning to “year” include accounting year, base year, dog year, financial year, fiscal year and liturgical year.
What part of speech is “year”?
“Year” is a noun.
Where does the word “year” come from?
The word “year” comes from Old English. From Old English ġēar, from a very old Germanic and Indo-European root meaning "year" or "spring" — a distant cousin of the words "hora" and "hour.".
Is “year” a common word?
“Year” is a very common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A1 level.
How many meanings does “year” have?
“Year” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the time it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun once, about 365 days.
Why does a year have 365 days?
A year measures one full orbit of the Earth around the Sun, and that journey takes roughly 365 days. The orbit is not a whole number of days, though — it is about 365 and a quarter. Those leftover quarter-days are collected up and added as an extra day every four years.
What is a leap year?
A leap year has 366 days instead of 365, with the extra day added as 29 February. It happens roughly every four years to make up for the quarter-day the Earth takes beyond 365 days to orbit the Sun. Without leap years, the calendar would slowly drift out of step with the seasons.
What are the different types of year?
Besides the everyday calendar year of 365 days, there is the solar or tropical year (the seasonal cycle), the sidereal year (Earth's orbit measured against the stars), and human-made spans like the fiscal year for accounting and the academic year for schools. They differ in start point and exact length.
How many weeks and months are in a year?
A year contains 12 months and about 52 weeks — 52 weeks and one extra day, to be precise (two in a leap year). That is why a given date falls one weekday later each year. All of this stems from the roughly 365 days it takes Earth to circle the Sun.
Example sentences
Real-world examples showing year in context, drawn from published sources. Any opinions expressed are those of the original source and do not reflect the views of FreeDict.com.
8 million in gross income last year, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It, but after expenses, the business ended the year at a loss.
From
CNBC · Jul 25, 2026
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