Gregorian calendar

noun

: a calendar in general use introduced in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII as a revision of the Julian calendar, adopted in Great Britain and the American colonies in 1752, marked by the suppression of 10 days or after 1700 11 days, and having leap years in every year divisible by four with the restriction that centesimal years are leap years only when divisible by 400 see Months of the Principal Calendars Table

Examples of Gregorian calendar in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Because the Islamic calendar is lunar and shorter than the Gregorian calendar, the timing of Hajj on the Gregorian calendar shifts slightly each year. —Xiaofei Xu and Masrur Jamaluddin, CNN, 23 June 2024

Quirks in the Gregorian calendar mean the solstice will make another jump earlier every leap year until 2100. —Nicole Fallert, USA TODAY, 20 June 2024

To account for that extra quarter, the Gregorian calendar adds a day to February every four years: leap day. —Rachel Treisman, NPR, 20 June 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

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1771, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

Gregorian calendar

noun

Gre·​go·​ri·​an calendar

gri-ˌgōr-ē-ən-,

-ˌgȯr-

: a calendar introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in 1582 and adopted in Great Britain and the American colonies in 1752 compare julian calendar