fourth Thursday in November in the United States; second Monday in October in Canada; commemorates a feast held in 1621 by the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag
(astronomy) the particular appearance of a body's state of illumination (especially one of the recurring shapes of the part of Earth's moon that is illuminated by the sun); "the full phase of the moon"
(physical chemistry) a distinct state of matter in a system; matter that is identical in chemical composition and physical state and separated from other material by the phase boundary; "the reaction occurs in the liquid phase of the system"
a particular point in the time of a cycle; measured from some arbitrary zero and expressed as an angle
any distinct time period in a sequence of events; "we are in a transitional stage in which many former ideas must be revised or rejected"
adjust so as to be in a synchronized condition; "he phased the intake with the output of the machine"
actions taken by a government to defeat insurgency
the act of appeasing someone or causing someone to be more favorably inclined; "a wonderful skill in the pacification of crying infants"; "his unsuccessful mollification of the mob"
not of prime or central importance; "nonessential to the integral meanings of poetry"- Pubs.MLA
(sometimes followed by `to') minor or casual or subordinate in significance or nature or occurring as a chance concomitant or consequence; "incidental expenses"; "the road will bring other incidental advantages"; "extra duties incidental to the job"; "labor problems incidental to a rapid expansion"; "confusion incidental to a quick change"
the great circle representing the apparent annual path of the sun; the plane of the Earth's orbit around the sun; makes an angle of about 23 degrees with the equator; "all of the planets rotate the sun in approximately the same ecliptic"