periodic

adjective

pe·​ri·​od·​ic ˌpir-ē-ˈä-dik 

1

a

: occurring or recurring at regular intervals

b

: occurring repeatedly from time to time

2

a

: consisting of or containing a series of repeated stages, processes, or digits : cyclic

periodic decimals

a periodic vibration

b

: being a function any value of which recurs at regular intervals

3

: expressed in or characterized by periodic sentences

Synonyms of periodic

• frequent
• regular
• repeated
• periodical
• constant

Examples of periodic in a Sentence

He takes the car in for periodic oil changes.

sent out periodic reminders about the office dress code

Recent Examples on the Web

In more than four years of war, roughly fifteen thousand Ukrainian soldiers have been taken prisoner; about two-thirds of them have been released in periodic exchanges between Ukraine and Russia. — Joshua Yaffa, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

The country’s current licensing regime lacks mental health screening for people applying to possess a gun, allows people as young as 20 to hold weapons and does not require periodic reassessments for license holders, according to experts. — Reuters, NBC news, 10 Aug. 2026

Organizations can no longer rely solely on periodic monitoring, manual investigations or reactive incident response models. — Aliasgar Dohadwala, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026

The group has filed periodic reports each time it’s made an independent expenditure or IE. — Lisa Hagen, Hartford Courant, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1650, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing periodic

• periodic acid
• periodic law
• periodic sentence
• periodic table

Rhymes for periodic

• anodic
• helladic
• melodic
• prosodic
• rhapsodic
• spasmodic
• antispasmodic
• aperiodic
• episodic
• modoc
• sodic
• photoperiodic

Kids Definition

periodic

adjective

pe·​ri·​od·​ic ˌpir-ē-ˈäd-ik 

1

: occurring at regular intervals

2

: consisting of or containing a series of repeated stages

periodic vibrations

Medical Definition

periodic

adjective

pe·​ri·​od·​ic ˌpir-ē-ˈäd-ik 

: occurring or recurring at regular intervals

periodic epidemics