leap year

noun

1
: a year in the Gregorian calendar containing 366 days with February 29 as the extra day
2
: an intercalary year in any calendar

Examples of leap year in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The Tortue Perpetual Calendar, launched in 2010, measured a hefty 41.2mm in diameter and featured a combination leap year and month indicator at 12 o’clock, a retrograde day indicator across the dial center, and a radial date indicator along the dial periphery. Oren Hartov, Robb Report, 15 July 2024 Its miraculous ganglia of tiny wheels and levers will adjust its readings to the quirky imperfections of the Gregorian calendar, including leap years. Jay Fielden, The New Yorker, 17 June 2024 Originating over 2,000 years ago, leap year was created to help align our calendar with the solar calendar and take account for the fact that the Earth takes slightly over 365 days to orbit the sun – 365.2422 days, to be exact. Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 27 Feb. 2024 To address this issue, Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar, a solar calendar, which included a leap year system. John Tufts, The Indianapolis Star, 2 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for leap year 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'leap year.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of leap year was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near leap year

Cite this Entry

“Leap year.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leap%20year. Accessed 11 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

leap year

noun
: a year in the Gregorian calendar containing 366 days with February 29 as the extra day

More from Merriam-Webster on leap year

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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