leap year; intercalary year
Meanings
2 senses · 6 examplesnoun
(in the Gregorian calendar) a leap year; a year with an intercalary day (February 29), totaling 366 days
In the Gregorian calendar system, a leap year occurs every four years (with some exceptions for century years) and includes February 29th as the intercalary day.
2020 was a leap year, and February had 29 days.
A leap year occurs once every four years.
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People born on February 29th of a leap year can only celebrate their birthday once every four years.
noun
(in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar) a leap year; a year with an intercalary month, totaling 13 months (383 or 384 days)
In the traditional Chinese agricultural calendar, a leap month (闰月) is added approximately every 2-3 years to synchronize the lunar months with the solar year. A lunar leap year contains 13 months instead of the usual 12.
A leap year in the lunar calendar has thirteen months.
This year is a leap year, so there will be an extra month.
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Leap years exist to reconcile the discrepancy between the tropical year and the lunar calendar year.