period

Universal Words noun, adverb, adjective noun length of time 1 a particular length of time: a period of consultation / mourning / uncertainty * The factory will be closed down over a 2-year period / a period of two years. * This compares with a 4% increase for the same period last year. * This offer is available for a limited period only. * The aim is to reduce traffic at peak periods. * You can have it for a trial period (= in order to test it). * The project will run for a six-month trial period. * Tomorrow will be cold with sunny periods. seealsoCOOLING-OFFPERIOD 2 a length of time in the life of a particular person or in the history of a particular country: Which period of history would you most like to have lived in? * the post-war period * The church dates from the Norman period. * Like Picasso, she too had a blue period. * Most teenagers go through a period of rebelling. 3 a particular length of time during which rocks are formed: the Jurassic period lesson 4 any of the parts that a day is divided into at a school, college, etc. for study: 'What do you have next period?' 'French.' * a free / study period (= for private study) woman 5 the flow of blood each month from the body of a woman who is not pregnant: period pains * monthly periods * When did you last have a period? compareMENSTRUATION punctuation 6 (AmE) = FULLSTOPnoun adverb (spoken, especially AmE) = FULLSTOPadv.: The answer is no, period! adjective [onlybeforenoun] having a style typical of a particular time in history: period costumes / furniture