| one of the 24 regions or divisions of the globe approximately coinciding with meridians at successive hours from the observatory at Greenwich, England. |

| time zone n. Any of the 24 longitudinal divisions of the earth's surface in which a standard time is kept, the primary division being that bisected by the Greenwich meridian. Each zone is 15° of longitude in width, with local variations, and observes a clock time one hour earlier than the zone immediately to the east. |
| time zone
Any of the 24 divisions of the Earth's surface used to determine the local time for any given locality. Each zone is roughly 15° of longitude in width, with local variations for economic and political convenience. Local time is one hour ahead for each time zone as one travels east and one hour behind for each time zone as one travels west. The International Meridian Conference in 1884 established the prime meridian as the starting point for the 24 zones. See more at International Date Line, standard time. |
time zone
One of approximately 24 longitudinal divisions of the globe, nominally 15 degrees wide, in which clocks show the same time. Some zones follow the boundaries of states or territories, others differ from neighbouring zones by more or less than one hour.
Computers can be programmed to take into account the time zone each user is working in, which is not necessarily the same as the zone the computer is in.
See also TZ.
(1997-07-20)
time zone
a zone on the terrestrial globe that is approximately 15 longitude wide and extends from pole to pole and within which a uniform clock time is used. Time zones are the functional basis of standard time (q.v.).
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