Leonid

noun

Le·​o·​nid ˈlē-ə-nid How to pronounce Leonid (audio)
plural Leonids or Leonides lē-ˈä-nə-ˌdēz How to pronounce Leonid (audio)
: 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

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of Leonid was in 1876

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.

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