aestivate

[ es-tuh-veyt or, especially British, ee-stuh- ]

verb (used without object),aes·ti·vat·ed, aes·ti·vat·ing.

estivate.

Other words from aestivate

aes·ti·va·tion, noun
aes·ti·va·tor, noun

Words Nearby aestivate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use aestivate in a sentence

In such cases the insect must aestivate rather than hibernate.
Butterflies Worth Knowing | Clarence M. Weed
The Australian mudfish (Ceratodus) is not known to hibernate or aestivate.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4 | Various

British Dictionary definitions for aestivate

aestivate

US estivate

/ (ˈiːstɪˌveɪt, ˈɛs-) /

verb(intr)

to pass the summer
(of animals such as the lungfish) to pass the summer or dry season in a dormant condition: Compare hibernate

Origin of aestivate

C17: from Latin aestīvātus, from aestīvāre to stay during the summer, from aestās summer

Derived forms of aestivate

aestivator or US estivator, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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