Meaning & use
almanac
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Meanings
nouncountable
A yearly book that lists the days of the year with information such as sunrise times, tides, weather outlooks and advice for farmers.
Grammar: Countable: an almanac, the almanac for next year.
Patterns
- according to the almanac
- a farmer's almanac
My grandfather checked the almanac before planting his beans.
The sailor looked up the tide times in the almanac.
A new almanac is published every autumn.
nouncountable
A reference book of facts, figures and records, often on a particular subject such as sport or world events.
Grammar: Often used with a topic word: a baseball almanac.
Patterns
- a sports almanac
- an almanac of something
He found the old batting averages in a baseball almanac.
The school library keeps a world almanac near the desk.
The almanac lists the population of every country.
Word forms
| plural | almanacs |
|---|
Common combinations
- farmer's almanac
- The farmer's almanac predicted a cold winter.
- annual almanac
- The annual almanac lists sunrise times for each day.
- nautical almanac
- Navigators used a nautical almanac to find their position.
- consult the almanac
- She consulted the almanac for the date of the full moon.
- world almanac
- The world almanac gave the heights of the tallest mountains.
Synonyms and how they differ
- yearbook
- A yearbook records what happened in a past year, such as at a school, whereas an almanac gives facts and forecasts for the year ahead.
- calendar
- A calendar lists dates and may show events, while an almanac adds data on weather, tides and astronomy.
- handbook
- A handbook gives guidance on how to do something, while an almanac collects facts and figures.
- encyclopedia
- An encyclopedia explains subjects in articles, whereas an almanac gives short lists, tables and figures.
Commonly confused: almanac or alma mater? almanac or almond?
almanac vs alma mater
Alma mater is a Latin phrase for the school someone attended, and is not a reference book.
almanac vs almond
An almond is a nut, which is pronounced and spelled quite differently.
Practice
Which would you most likely find in an almanac?
Choose one answer.
Almanacs are known for yearly tables of tides, sunrises and weather. A novel, a lone recipe and a contract are not collections of reference data.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “almanac”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.