hibernate

[ hi-ber-neyt ]

/ ˈhɪ bərˌneɪt /

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verb (used without object), hi·ber·nat·ed, hi·ber·nat·ing.

Zoology. to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormant condition, as bears and certain other animals.Compare estivate.

to withdraw or be in seclusion; retire.

to winter in a place with a milder climate: Each winter finds us hibernating in Florida.

Nearby words

hibakusha, hibbing, hibernacle, hibernaculum, hibernal, hibernate, hibernation, hibernia, hibernian, hibernicism, hibernicize

Origin of hibernate

First recorded in 1795–1805, hibernate is from the Latin word hībernātus (past participle of hībernāre to spend the winter). See hibernal, -ate¹

Related forms

hi·ber·na·tion, nounhi·ber·na·tor, nounpost·hi·ber·na·tion, adjectivesem·i·hi·ber·na·tion, noun

Can be confused

estivate hibernate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hibernate

After these well-meaning moments they are left alone to hibernate with their own devastation.
Homefront Veterans: Skiing With Wounded Warriors|John Kael Weston|February 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Simply a hole to hibernate in and to sleep and eat in in summer.126 A dreary present and a well-nigh hopeless future.
Prairie Folks|Hamlin Garland
So they have a comparatively long life for a butterfly that does not hibernate as an adult.
Butterflies Worth Knowing|Clarence M. Weed
Others again, like Podura nivalis and Boreus hiemalis, never appear to hibernate, at least in England.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 4|Various

In October the mites abandon the leaves to hibernate in the bud scales again.
Apple Growing|M. C. Burritt
That's my one hope now—that the Killer has gone to some cave he knows about to hibernate until this storm is over.
The Strength of the Pines|Edison Marshall

British Dictionary definitions for hibernate

hibernate

/ (ˈhaɪbəˌneɪt) /

verb (intr)

(of some mammals, reptiles, and amphibians) to pass the winter in a dormant condition with metabolism greatly slowed downCompare aestivate

to cease from activity

Derived Forms

hibernation, nounhibernator, noun

Word Origin for hibernate

C19: from Latin hībernāre to spend the winter, from hībernus of winter, from hiems winter

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