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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Two states, Arizona and Hawaii, do not participate, opting to remain on standard time year-round. Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 15 Feb. 2025 After legislation efforts failed during the 2023 session, state Sen. Judith Zaffirini filed a bill this session that would adopt standard time year-round, according to the Texas Tribune. Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Feb. 2025 Tags daylight saving time Donald Trump Donald Trump Greg Steube Patty Murray permanent standard time permanent time Rick Scott Roger Wicker Tommy Tuberville Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 8 Jan. 2025 Arizona and Hawaii are the only states that don't use DST. U.S. territories including Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa and the Virgin Islands observe permanent standard time. Jeremy Duda, Axios, 17 Dec. 2024 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

Dictionary Entries Near standard time

Cite this Entry

“Standard time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/standard%20time. Accessed 22 Feb. 2025.

Kids Definition

standard time

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

More from Merriam-Webster on standard time

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