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

See Examples For:

autumn autumns

"First of all, there's nature, of course -- there are the trees, the grass," she said, noting, "the trees already look like autumn."

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

Infantino has shown no desire to step down, but there is a chance that his time in charge could be over by the autumn.

From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026

The World Meteorological Organization said on July 31 that a “strong El Niño is developing” and was expected to continue strengthening through early autumn.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026

The government will launch a consultation this autumn to decide how the new measures should be implemented.

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026

It was as thin as an autumn leaf.

From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova

Two autumns ago, Zelma Redding and her family invited us to their big old ranch outside Macon, and we had an afternoon in the great man’s study.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026

Tehran, located on the southern slopes of the Alborz Mountains, experiences hot, dry summers, sometimes rainy autumns and winters that can be harsh and snowy.

From Barron's ● Dec. 24, 2025

The findings point to warmer autumns as a key driver of the shift.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2025

The story leaps two autumns ahead, when Odd happens along and helps Sook and Buddy as they struggle to haul a tub of chrysanthemums to their porch.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025

He had a wife, Nancy, and three children, and his own house, which he had built with his own hands, a small tight adobe that required mudding every two or three autumns.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols