hibernate

American  

[hahy-ber-neyt] / ˈhaɪ bərˌneɪt /

verb (used without object)

• hibernates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hibernated,
  past participle,  past
• hibernating
  present participle

1. Zoology. to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormant condition, as bears and certain other animals.

2. to withdraw or be in seclusion; retire.

3. to winter in a place with a milder climate.

   Each winter finds us hibernating in Florida.

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hibernate British  

/ ˈhaɪbəˌneɪt /

verb

1. (of some mammals, reptiles, and amphibians) to pass the winter in a dormant condition with metabolism greatly slowed down Compare aestivate

2. to cease from activity

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hibernation
  noun
• hibernator
  noun
• semihibernation
  noun
• posthibernation
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• hibernating
  present
• hibernated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hibernate
  simple
• hibernates
  simple
• have hibernated
  perfect
• has hibernated
  perfect
• am hibernating
  progressive
• are hibernating
  progressive
• is hibernating
  progressive
• have been hibernating
  perfect progressive
• has been hibernating
  perfect progressive

Past

• hibernated
  simple
• had hibernated
  perfect
• was hibernating
  progressive
• were hibernating
  progressive
• had been hibernating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hibernate
  simple
• will have hibernated
  perfect
• will be hibernating
  progressive
• will have been hibernating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of hibernate

First recorded in 1795–1805, hibernate is from the Latin word hībernātus (past participle of hībernāre to spend the winter). See hibernal, -ate ¹

Explanation

To hibernate means to take a season-long snooze. When a bear crawls into a cave with a belly full of food ready to sleep through the cold winter, that bear is going to hibernate until spring. Animals that sleep through the winter, like bears, squirrels, rodents and even some rattlesnakes, are said to hibernate through the winter. This word can also be used to describe any kind of inactive or dormant state, especially for the purpose of getting rest. If you’ve had a tough week and you’re planning to shut down and hole up in your house for the weekend, you could say you’re going to hibernate this weekend.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hibernate hibernates hibernated hibernating

In September 2023, rain followed by Tropical Storm Hilary established conditions for breeding and the subsequent insect activity in a time when the mosquitoes typically begin to hibernate.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026

It’s a time to hibernate, rest and nourish yourself in preparation for the year of parties ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

Those offspring hibernate over winter as larvae - caterpillars - in a communal silken web called a hibernaculum.

From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025

The mechanisms animals use to hibernate or slow their metabolism during unfavorable seasonal conditions are similar to those used by resurrecting creatures, who are just rather more extreme about it.

From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2025

Some are permanent residents of the dark subsurface layers; some hibernate or spend definite parts of their life cycles in underground chambers; some freely come and go between their burrows and the upper world.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Its full life cycle remains a mystery, but it probably includes a cyst stage that hibernates on the lake bottom until it’s triggered to divide and release new cells.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 21, 2023

That kind of fervor doesn’t fade; it just hibernates.

From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2020

As the temperature cools, the Harlequin hibernates for the winter in buildings - including homes.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2018

A white dwarf star gathers hydrogen from its neighbor for 100,000 years, erupts, hibernates, goes through a dwarf-nova stage — and does it all over again, possibly for a billion years.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 30, 2017

Come summer he gets dozy and hibernates through to autumn, and I can speak a bit better.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

The glove maker’s plant utilization rates are above 96%, excluding hibernated plants, he notes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

"Blue-tongued skinks hibernated under the garage and at night blue-banded and teddy-bear bees slept in the hedges under the front window," Dr Holden said.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 8, 2023

Not that the festival has exactly hibernated in the meantime: In 2021 and 2022, digital screenings and panel discussions helped sustain this annual event and its movie-hungry audiences.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2023

Aristotle thought that some birds such as swallows hibernated in the colder months and that others transformed into different species—redstarts turned into robins for the winter, he proposed.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 15, 2022

So I took to the cellar; I hibernated.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

As hibernating animals, marmots put on weight before winter.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

My default seems to be crawling into myself and hibernating with warm, soft-baked Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies with a glass of oat milk.

From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2025

These field exposure estimates informed subsequent studies on the impact of such exposure on hibernating bumble bee queens and the hoary squash bee, a solitary ground-nesting species.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 18, 2024

The fungus invades the skin tissue of hibernating bats and causes them to wake too often or too early during winter, depleting their precious fat stores when there’s scant food.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2024

“When Ambrose broke your lute, it roused your sleeping mind. Like a great hibernating bear jabbed with a burning stick, it reared up and roared the name of the wind.”

From "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

Related Words

• hole up