leap second

leap sec·ond

L l

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [leep sek-uh nd]
- /lip ˈsɛk ənd/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [leep sek-uh nd]
- /lip ˈsɛk ənd/

Definitions of leap second words

abbreviation Technical meaning of LEAP SECOND Coordinated Universal Time 3
noun leap second an extra second intercalated into the world's timekeeping system about once a year, made necessary by the gradual slowing down of the earth's rotation. 1
noun Technical meaning of leap second (time, standard) (UTC, World Time) The standard time common to every place in the world. UTC is derived from International Atomic Time (TAI) by the addition of a whole number of "leap seconds" to synchronise it with Universal Time 1 (UT1), thus allowing for the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit, the rotational axis tilt (23.5 degrees), but still showing the Earth's irregular rotation, on which UT1 is based. Coordinated Universal Time is expressed using a 24-hour clock and uses the Gregorian calendar. It is used in aeroplane and ship navigation, where it also sometimes known by the military name, "Zulu time". "Zulu" in the phonetic alphabet stands for "Z" which stands for longitude zero. UTC was defined by the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR), a predecessor of the ITU-T. CCIR Recommendation 460-4, or ITU-T Recommendation X.680 (7/94), contains the full definition. The language-independent international abbreviation, UTC, is neither English nor French. It means both "Coordinated Universal Time" and "Temps Universel Coordonné". 1
noun leap second a second added to or removed from a scale for reckoning time on one particular occasion, to synchronize it with another scale 0
noun leap second A second of time added to the year occasionally to compensate for variation in the rate of Earth's rotation relative to the absolute standards of time. 0

See all 5 definitions of leap second

Information block about the term

Origin of leap second

First appearance:

before 1970

One of the 2% newest English words

First recorded in 1970-75

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Leap second

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Leap second

leap second popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 40% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 52% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

leap second usage trend in Literature

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