hibernate

American  

[hahy-ber-nayt] / ˈhaɪ bərˌneɪt /

verb (used without object)

• hibernates,
  present (3rd person singular)
• hibernated,
  past participle,  past
• hibernating
  present participle

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

2. to withdraw or be in seclusion; retire.

3. to winter in a place with a milder climate.

   Each winter finds us hibernating in Florida.

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hibernate British  

/ ˈhaɪbəˌneɪt /

verb

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

2. to cease from activity

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• hibernation
  noun
• hibernator
  noun
• semihibernation
  noun
• posthibernation
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• hibernating
  present
• hibernated
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• hibernate
  simple
• hibernates
  simple
• have hibernated
  perfect
• has hibernated
  perfect
• am hibernating
  progressive
• are hibernating
  progressive
• is hibernating
  progressive
• have been hibernating
  perfect progressive
• has been hibernating
  perfect progressive

Past

• hibernated
  simple
• had hibernated
  perfect
• was hibernating
  progressive
• were hibernating
  progressive
• had been hibernating
  perfect progressive

Future

• will hibernate
  simple
• will have hibernated
  perfect
• will be hibernating
  progressive
• will have been hibernating
  perfect progressive

Etymology

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, -ate ¹

Explanation

To hibernate means to take a season-long snooze. When a bear crawls into a cave with a belly full of food ready to sleep through the cold winter, that bear is going to hibernate until spring. Animals that sleep through the winter, like bears, squirrels, rodents and even some rattlesnakes, are said to hibernate through the winter. This word can also be used to describe any kind of inactive or dormant state, especially for the purpose of getting rest. If you’ve had a tough week and you’re planning to shut down and hole up in your house for the weekend, you could say you’re going to hibernate this weekend.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

hibernate hibernates hibernated hibernating

In “Rare Bird” a woman in 18th-century England finds pleasure in the company of a new friend, who helps her test a claim from the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus that swallows hibernate underwater.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Attacks by bears tend to surge in autumn before bears hibernate, with experts saying low yields of beech nuts because of climate change could be driving hungry animals into residential areas.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2025

Though fence lizards don’t hibernate, they become sluggish in winter, which is why these days, warmed by the sun and driven by the urge to mate, they’re once more appearing all over.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2025

The mechanisms animals use to hibernate or slow their metabolism during unfavorable seasonal conditions are similar to those used by resurrecting creatures, who are just rather more extreme about it.

From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2025

But the skrewts, it transpired, did not hibernate, and did not appreciate being forced into pillow-lined boxes and nailed in.

From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling

Its full life cycle remains a mystery, but it probably includes a cyst stage that hibernates on the lake bottom until it’s triggered to divide and release new cells.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 21, 2023

That kind of fervor doesn’t fade; it just hibernates.

From New York Times ● Feb. 14, 2020

As the temperature cools, the Harlequin hibernates for the winter in buildings - including homes.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2018

A white dwarf star gathers hydrogen from its neighbor for 100,000 years, erupts, hibernates, goes through a dwarf-nova stage — and does it all over again, possibly for a billion years.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 30, 2017

Come summer he gets dozy and hibernates through to autumn, and I can speak a bit better.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

The glove maker’s plant utilization rates are above 96%, excluding hibernated plants, he notes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

"Blue-tongued skinks hibernated under the garage and at night blue-banded and teddy-bear bees slept in the hedges under the front window," Dr Holden said.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 8, 2023

Aristotle thought that some birds such as swallows hibernated in the colder months and that others transformed into different species—redstarts turned into robins for the winter, he proposed.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 15, 2022

One sequence cannot do this game justice, not during a 10-2 defeat to the Cubs when the Dodgers’ lineup hibernated, the pitchers quivered and the defense self-destructed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2016

“I haven’t hibernated in three years. I’m ragged from it. Him too.”

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

As hibernating animals, marmots put on weight before winter.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

With such an abundant year-round supply of snacks there’s a risk that bears could skip hibernating altogether if they become reliant on human food sources, the department said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 7, 2025

My default seems to be crawling into myself and hibernating with warm, soft-baked Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies with a glass of oat milk.

From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2025

Finally, the researchers wanted to understand the changes that occur at the protein level during the different hibernating phases.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 20, 2024

He trudged out through the drifts leaving the boy to sleep under the tree like some hibernating animal.

From "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy

Related Words

• hole up