year

year
year S1 W1 /jɪə, jɜː $ jɪr/ noun [countable]1.  12 MONTHS a period of about 365 days or 12 months, measured from any particular time:
    I arrived here two years ago.
    We’ve known each other for over a year.
    It’s almost a year since Sue died.
    Jodi is 15 years old.
    a three-year business plan
    a four-year-old child
    be 12/21 etc years of age (=be 12/21 etc years old) ⇨ financial year, fiscal year, light year, tax year
2.  JANUARY TO DECEMBER (also calendar year) a period of 365 or 366 days divided into 12 months beginning on January 1st and ending on December 31st:
    the year that Kennedy died
    in the year 1785
    this/last/next year
    They moved here at the beginning of this year.
    last year’s cup final
    She goes there every year.
    The museum attracts 100,000 visitors a year.
    in the early years of last century ⇨ leap year, New Year
3. years
  a. informal a very long period of time
   SYN  ages:
    It’s years since I rode a bike.
    in/for years
    I haven’t been there for years.
    It was the first time in years I’d seen her.
  b. age, especially old age
    a man/woman/person etc of his/her etc years
    Gordon is very active for a man of his years.
    getting on in years (=no longer young)
4. all (the) year round during the whole year:
    It’s warm enough to swim all year round. ⇨ year-round
5. year by year as each year passes:
    Business has steadily increased year by year.
6. year after year/year in, year out every year for many years:
    Many birds return to the same spot year after year.
7.  PERIOD OF LIFE/HISTORY years [plural] a particular period of time in someone’s life or in history:
    the difficult years following the war
    Sheila enjoyed her years as a student in Oxford.
8. the school/academic year the time within a period of 12 months when students are studying at a school or university
9.  SCHOOL/UNIVERSITY LEVEL especially British English a particular level that a student stays at for one year:
    a group of year seven students
    in a year
    He was in my year at school.
10. first/second etc year British English someone who is in their first etc year at school or university:
    The department offers a study skills programme for all first years.
11. musician/player/car etc of the year the musician etc who was voted the best in a particular year
    vote/name something ... of the year
    The new Renault was voted car of the year.
12. year on year compared with the previous year:
    Sales rose by 39 per cent year on year.
13. never/not in a million years spoken used to say that something is extremely unlikely:
    Never in a million years did I think we’d lose.
14. the year dot British English informal a very long time ago:
    Scientists have been involved in war since the year dot.
15. put years on somebody/take years off somebody to make someone look or feel older or younger:
    Tina’s divorce has put years on her.
⇨ donkey’s years at donkey(2)
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meaning 2)

■ adjectives
   ▪ this year She will be eight this year.
   ▪ next year I might go to law school next year.
   ▪ last year Last year we spent a lot on the house.
   ▪ every year They go back to the same resort every year.
   ▪ the current year The budget for the current year was £13 million.
   ▪ the coming year (=the year that is about to start) Here are some events to look out for in the coming year.
   ▪ the past year Over the past year everyone has worked extremely hard.
   ▪ the previous year They had married the previous year.
   ▪ the following year The following year he was made captain of the team.
   ▪ the new year (=used to talk about the beginning of the next year) The report is due at the beginning of the new year.
■ phrases
   ▪ the beginning/start of the year They moved here at the beginning of last year.
   ▪ the end of the year Work should finish around the end of the year.
     

COLLOCATIONS

(for Meaning 7)

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + years
   ▪ early years Little is known about his early years. | He remembers the early years of television.
   ▪ the last/latter/closing years of something He changed his opinion during the last years of his life.
   ▪ somebody's childhood/teenage years the home in which she spent her childhood years
   ▪ the war years She worked for the BBC during the war years.
   ▪ the boom years (=when an economy or industry is very successful) In the boom years, things weren't too bad.
   ▪ somebody's retirement years He enjoyed his retirement years in Wales.
   ▪ the Bush/Blair etc years (=when Bush, Blair etc was leader) The rich did very nicely during the Thatcher years.
■ phrases
   ▪ in recent years The number of cases has risen dramatically in recent years.
   ▪ in later years In later years he regretted their argument.
   ▪ in years gone by (=in the past) The old fort defended the island in years gone by.
■ COMMON ERRORS
    ► Do not say 'in ancient years' or 'in the ancient years'. Say in ancient times or long ago.