hibernaculum
Americannoun
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a protective case or covering, especially for winter, as of an animal or a plant bud.
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winter quarters, as of a hibernating animal.
noun
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the winter quarters of a hibernating animal
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the protective case or covering of a plant bud or animal
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A protective case, covering, or structure, such as a plant bud, in which an organism remains dormant for the winter.
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The shelter of a hibernating animal.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hibernaculum
First recorded in 1690–1700; from Latin hībernāculum “winter residence,” equivalent to hībernā(re) “to spend the winter” + -culum suffix denoting place
Explanation
If a cave is handy, a bear might choose it as its hibernaculum, a place to spend the winter while it's in a state of winter dormancy. A groundhog's hibernaculum is an elaborate underground burrow in which it spends the winter in a deep sleep. The word hibernaculum is borrowed from Latin, where it means "winter home." It's related to the English word hibernate, which is what some animals do to survive the harsh, winter months: They go into a deep, prolonged state of inactivity. A hibernaculum can be as simple as a hard, protective covering on an insect (or plant), or a pile of leaves to snuggle down in. While hibernaculum is a specific term in zoology and biology, it may be used figuratively to describe a person's winter retreat.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Those offspring hibernate over winter as larvae - caterpillars - in a communal silken web called a hibernaculum.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2025
He says human disturbance during hibernation can cause significant impacts to bats and may even result in the abandonment of the cave as a hibernaculum.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 12, 2019
Construction of the winter cave, or hibernaculum, cost about $300,000.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 29, 2012
It is the winter home, or hibernaculum, to 270,000 gray bats, listed as endangered partly because the entire species hibernates in only nine caves, three of those in Tennessee.
From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2012
There is little movement during dormancy except for the deepening or horizontal extension of the hibernaculum.
From Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz by Legler, John M.
New shelters known as hibernacula are being created using peat, tree material and brash to provide safe overwintering areas.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
The nonprofit is testing out a method where a UV light is set up to attract bugs to bats near the hibernacula, the cool-sounding plural for bat refuges.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2024
Dens, or hibernacula, are almost always on south-facing slopes, where the animals can soak up sun when they emerge from their chilly months of hibernation, Beck and his students found.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2017
“They are pretty unique places,” said Rohrer, who collaborates with Beck and has mapped about 30 hibernacula in the Methow Valley.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2017
Box turtles, like nearly all other reptiles occurring at these latitudes, spend the winter in underground hibernacula.
From Natural History of the Ornate Box Turtle, Terrapene ornata ornata Agassiz by Legler, John M.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
