Indian summer

American  

noun

1. a period of mild, dry weather, usually accompanied by a hazy atmosphere, occurring usually in late October or early November and following a period of colder weather.

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Indian summer British  

noun

1. a period of unusually settled warm weather after the end of summer proper

2. a period of ease and tranquillity or of renewed productivity towards the end of a person's life or of an epoch

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Indian summer Cultural  

1. A period of unusually warm weather in the fall, often following a seasonable cold spell.

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Indian summer Idioms  

1. A period of mild, sunny weather occurring in late autumn, usually following a seasonable cold spell. For example, We had two whole days of Indian summer this year, and then it turned cold again. [Late 1700s]

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Etymology

Origin of Indian summer

An Americanism dating back to 1770–80

Example Sentences

India went on to win the first time ever in both countries, to make it an Indian Summer.

From BBC • Jun. 16, 2025

“Lyric night of the lingering Indian Summer, / Shadowy fields that are scentless but full of singing,” Sara Teasdale wrote in “September Midnight.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2022

In 2004, Brockman hosted a dinner at the Indian Summer restaurant in Monterey, California, where Epstein was introduced to scientists, including Seth Lloyd, the MIT physicist.

From Seattle Times • Jul. 31, 2019

“It is impossible to understand relations between India and Pakistan without looking back to partition,” says Alex von Tunzelmann, a historian and the author of Indian Summer, a history of partition.

From The Guardian • Aug. 2, 2017

The Indian Summer was within their grasp, gossip was silenced, discourtesy put down.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White