plural Leonids or Leonides
lē-ˈä-nə-ˌdēz 
: any of the meteors in a meteor shower occurring every year about November 14
Examples of Leonid in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
How to Watch the Leonid Meteor Shower The full Leonid meteor shower runs from Nov. 3 to Dec. 2, and reaches peak activity overnight and into the early morning from Nov. 17 to 18.
—
Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 17 Nov. 2023
One such Leonid storm took place in 1966, when thousands of meteors streaked across the sky during a 15-minute period, according to NASA.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 16 Nov. 2023
However, a truly prolific Leonid storm may not occur until 2099, per the American Meteor Society.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Nov. 2023
Possible challengers include the longtime Communist Party leader, Gennady Zyuganov, who is 79, and the leader of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, Leonid Slutsky, 55.
—Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023
Later is the peak of the Leonid meteor shower, which isn’t normally much to get excited about yet does occasionally bring something unforgettable.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 12 Nov. 2023
Photograph: Leonid Sorokin/Getty Images With little fanfare, the European Union has launched a huge climate experiment.
—Matt Reynolds, WIRED, 9 Oct. 2023
The moves were a knee-jerk response from the market, said Kelvin Yew, a senior oil trader at the commodity-trading firm Ocean Leonid Investments.
—WSJ, 9 Oct. 2023
Then-Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk agreed to surrender roughly 1,900 nuclear warheads in exchange for security assurances from the U.S. and United Kingdom – and a Russian commitment to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2023
See More
Stephanie Vermillion, Travel + Leisure, 17 Nov. 2023
One such Leonid storm took place in 1966, when thousands of meteors streaked across the sky during a 15-minute period, according to NASA.
—Denise Chow, NBC News, 16 Nov. 2023
However, a truly prolific Leonid storm may not occur until 2099, per the American Meteor Society.
—Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Nov. 2023
Possible challengers include the longtime Communist Party leader, Gennady Zyuganov, who is 79, and the leader of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party, Leonid Slutsky, 55.
—Robyn Dixon, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023
Later is the peak of the Leonid meteor shower, which isn’t normally much to get excited about yet does occasionally bring something unforgettable.
—Jamie Carter, Forbes, 12 Nov. 2023
Photograph: Leonid Sorokin/Getty Images With little fanfare, the European Union has launched a huge climate experiment.
—Matt Reynolds, WIRED, 9 Oct. 2023
The moves were a knee-jerk response from the market, said Kelvin Yew, a senior oil trader at the commodity-trading firm Ocean Leonid Investments.
—WSJ, 9 Oct. 2023
Then-Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk agreed to surrender roughly 1,900 nuclear warheads in exchange for security assurances from the U.S. and United Kingdom – and a Russian commitment to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 6 Apr. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'Leonid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Latin Leon-, Leo; from their appearing to radiate from a point in Leo
First Known Use
1876, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near Leonid
Cite this Entry
“Leonid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Leonid. Accessed 2 Dec. 2023.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share