equation of time

American

noun

Astronomy.

apparent time minus mean solar time, ranging from minus 14 minutes in February to over 16 minutes in November.

equation of time British

noun

the difference between apparent solar time and mean solar time, being at a maximum in February (over 14 minutes) and November (over 16 minutes)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of equation of time

First recorded in 1720–30

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Calculating prayer times requires inputting the longitude and date into a formula called the equation of time, which determines solar time, according to Omar Al-Ejel, a computer science major at the University of Michigan who built a prayer time app in 2015 that he continues to update.

From Los Angeles Times

“I always look at the equation of time, money, energy, family and health, and I make all my decisions from that,” Tessler says.

From Seattle Times

But the boring dystopia meme reminds us the end could arrive quietly but corrosively, with a total erosion of work-life balance, crowdfunding for necessary healthcare, infantilisation by technology and the equation of time with capital.

From The Guardian

In its first application it is being used to measure the Equation of Time.

From Forbes

This disparity is known as the Equation of Time.

From Forbes

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023