shoulder season
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of shoulder season
First recorded in 1960–65
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Demand is waning as the fall shoulder season gets under way, but things still look precarious.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
U.S. natural gas futures ended the week lower as the market entered the shoulder season where summer cooling demand tapers off before early-season heating demand starts to kick in.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
Typically, the shoulder season would be June and September, but she said this is now reaching into October.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
My ideal vacation is renting a villa in the Mediterranean during shoulder season when it’s cool and breezy, eating elaborate meals and driving to offbeat museums and hidden beaches.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2025
They agree that the shoulder season, for better or for worse, just isn’t the same as it was in years’ past.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 2, 2023
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
