solar day

noun

: the interval between transits of the apparent or mean sun across the meridian at any place

Examples of solar day in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Since official records began in 1973, Earth's solar day has been steadily lengthening, mostly due to the moon. Jamie Carter, Space.com, 5 Aug. 2025 How long is a normal day on Earth? People live by the 24-hour solar day on Earth. Hannah Poukish, Sacbee.com, 5 Aug. 2025 If a person doesn’t get enough exposure to daytime light, perhaps due to long hours at school or the office, misalignment between the various clocks and the solar day can set off cascading effects. Carla Delgado, Discover Magazine, 29 Mar. 2022 When deprived of information from the outside world, the sleep-wake cycle usually lagged slightly slower than the solar day, with a period averaging around 25 hours. Jo Marchant, Wired, 1 Sep. 2020 Near the December solstice, each solar day runs about 24 hours and 30 seconds long. Justin Grieser, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Dec. 2022 The first division of the day’s 24 hours (known in Latin as partes minutae primae) gave them the length of the minute, which was one-1,440th of an average solar day. New York Times, 25 Apr. 2022 One solar day—a full day-night cycle—takes 176 Earth days. Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, 9 Nov. 2019 It’s eleven-thirty at night according to my watch, but this far south the hour of the solar day is of no help in trying to understand the situation we’re in here, or our work rhythms. Barry Lopez, Harper's magazine, 10 Jan. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1751, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of solar day was in 1751

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Cite this Entry

“Solar day.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/solar%20day. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

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