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
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Founder Leonid Mikhelson, Russia’s fourth-richest person and a close Putin ally, succeeded in completing construction of the first stage of the Arctic LNG 2 project last year — defying industry expectations that missing technology would hold it back. Stephen Stapczynski, Fortune, 5 May 2024 Photo 12/Universal Images Group via Getty Images President Richard Nixon and Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev watch as U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger signs the SALT weapons treaty on May 26, 1972 in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia. Kathryn Watson, CBS News, 30 Nov. 2023 Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev called on Washington to join in enforcing the cease-fire, threatening that Moscow would act on its own if the United States balked. Norman Kempster, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2023 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

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 9 Dec. 2024.

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