autumn

American  

[aw-tuhm] / ˈɔ təm /

noun

autumns plural

1. the season between summer and winter; fall. In the Northern Hemisphere it is from the September equinox to the December solstice; in the Southern Hemisphere it is from the March equinox to the June solstice.

2. a time of full maturity, especially the late stages of full maturity or, sometimes, the early stages of decline.

   to be in the autumn of one's life.

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autumn British  

/ ˈɔːtəm /

noun

1. (sometimes capital)

   1. Also called (esp US): fall.  the season of the year between summer and winter, astronomically from the September equinox to the December solstice in the N hemisphere and from the March equinox to the June solstice in the S hemisphere

   2. ( as modifier )

      autumn leaves

2. a period of late maturity, esp one followed by a decline

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• autumns
  plural

Etymology

Origin of autumn

1325–75; < Latin autumnus; replacing Middle English autumpne < Middle French autompne < Latin

Explanation

Autumn is the season after summer, when leaves fall from trees. It's also the season when the days get shorter and colder, and everything turns brown and drab, but people like it anyway, for the cocoa and cider, probably. Autumn is the third season of the year, coming after summer and before winter, and coinciding with the dropping of leaves from the trees as they go into a winter rest, which is why it's also called fall. We also use autumn metaphorically to talk about the seasons of a person's life, like that luminous older actress in the autumn of her career: she's not yet playing roles in nursing homes, but neither is she scampering around in bikinis.

Example Sentences

July is normally the best month of the third quarter, but its performance is tied to early advances that fade into summer and the classic autumn lull.

From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026

It said it would hold a formal ballot on whether to take industrial action over pay in the autumn if the government "does not take urgent action".

From BBC • Jul. 1, 2026

There is still a whole lot more summer to go too, with meteorological autumn not beginning until 1 September.

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2026

In a blog post last year the European Central Bank said heatwaves in the spring, autumn and winter can boost economic activity, particularly construction, agriculture and outdoor dining.

From Barron's • Jun. 26, 2026

The younger Swanburne girls had lived in terror of her bloodcurdling scream, which was put to good use every autumn at Heathcote’s annual Haunted Hay Maze festival.

From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood