Gregorian calendar

noun

: a calendar in general use introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a revision of the Julian calendar, adopted in Great Britain and the American colonies in 1752, marked by the suppression of 10 days or after 1700 11 days, and having leap years in every year divisible by four with the restriction that centesimal years are leap years only when divisible by 400 see Months of the Principal Calendars Table

Examples of Gregorian calendar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Three episodes have aired at this point in the Gregorian calendar. —Kase Wickman, Vanity Fair, 23 Jan. 2026

February's 'perfect month,' explained The Gregorian calendar is considered the standard calendar format and the most widely used globally, according to Time and Date. —Melina Khan, USA Today, 23 Jan. 2026

In one sense, detaching goal setting from the start of the Gregorian calendar is reasonable—one can, of course, choose to begin afresh at any moment. —Valerie Trapp, The Atlantic, 30 Dec. 2025

Most people mark the new year on Jan. 1 because of the Gregorian calendar. —Brittney Melton, NPR, 29 Dec. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1771, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Gregorian calendar

• calender
• kalendar

Kids Definition

Gregorian calendar

noun

Gre·​go·​ri·​an calendar

gri-ˌgōr-ē-ən-, 

-ˌgȯr-

: a calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and adopted in Great Britain and the American colonies in 1752 compare julian calendar