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

On the Gregorian calendar, used by most Christian denominations, Easter typically falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon following the spring equinox, known as the Paschal Full Moon. —Marina Johnson, IndyStar, 20 Feb. 2026

Because the Islamic calendar follows the lunar cycle, Ramadan begins about 11 days earlier each year on the Gregorian calendar. —Marley Malenfant, Austin American Statesman, 20 Feb. 2026

This differs from the Gregorian calendar—the solar calendar most of the world uses for civil purposes. —Juwayriah Wright, Time, 17 Feb. 2026

Because the Jewish calendar and the Gregorian calendar don’t coincide, every year my birthday fell on a different day. —Judith Levy, Sun Sentinel, 17 Feb. 2026

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