Meaning & use
time period
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Meaning
nouncountable
A stretch of time with a clear start and end, or one marked by particular events or features.
Grammar: Countable: in that time period, over a long time period.
Patterns
- during a time period
- over a time period
The museum shows clothing from many different time periods.
You must pay within the time period shown on the invoice.
The novel is set in a turbulent time period.
Word forms
| plural | time periods |
|---|
Common combinations
- specific time period
- Choose a specific time period for the report.
- short time period
- The offer lasts for a short time period.
- historical time period
- She studies a historical time period called the Renaissance.
- over a time period
- The data was gathered over a time period of five years.
- during this time period
- Prices rose during this time period.
Synonyms and how they differ
- period
- Period is shorter and often preferred in careful writing, since time is already implied.
- era
- Era suggests a long, significant stretch defined by major events, bigger than most time periods.
- span
- Span stresses the length from start to end rather than what happened in it.
- interval
- Interval often means a gap between two events, not a stretch with its own character.
Word family
- period noun
- a length of time
- periodic adjective
- happening at regular intervals
- periodically adverb
- from time to time at regular intervals
- timeframe noun
- the span of time in which something happens
Commonly confused: time period or time frame?
time period vs time frame
A time frame is the limit set for completing something, while a time period is simply a stretch of time.
Practice
Which phrase best completes: 'Castles were built mainly during that ____ in Europe.'?
Choose one answer.
Time period names a stretch of history. A time zone is a region's clock setting, so it does not fit.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “time period”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.