standard time

noun

: the time of a region or country that is established by law or general usage as civil time (see civil sense 5)
… the advent of the railway system and its demand for accurate timetables created the need for standard time and GMT became the legal standard time of Britain in 1880.John Sallnow
specifically : the mean time of a meridian that is a multiple of 15 arbitrarily applied to a local area or to one of the 24 time zones and designated as a number of hours earlier or later than Greenwich Mean Time
At a little after nine Central Standard Time on the night of Monday, April 13, 1970 there was, high in the western sky, a tiny flare of light that in some respects resembled a star exploding far away in our galaxy. Henry S. F. Cooper, Jr.

Examples of standard time in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Technically, the California legislature could get rid of daylight saving time — or standard time, with the help of Congress — with a 2/3 vote, following the success of a 2018 proposition approved by nearly 60% of California voters. Luis Melecio-Zambrano, The Mercury News, 6 Mar. 2025 States currently can opt to use standard time year-round, and Hawaii and Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation) already do so. Cameron Pugh, The Christian Science Monitor, 5 Mar. 2025 According to the Uniform Time Act of 1966, states are allowed to stay on standard time year-round – something done in Hawaii and Arizona – but are not able to permanently establish DST, meaning Congress would have to change the law. Leada Gore, Chicago Tribune, 28 Feb. 2025 Clocks will switch back to standard time in November. Hannah Poukish, Sacramento Bee, 28 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for standard time

Word History

First Known Use

1809, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of standard time was in 1809

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Cite this Entry

“Standard time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standard%20time. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

standard time

noun
: the time established by law or by general usage over a region or country

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