hibernate
Zoology. to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormant condition, as bears and certain other animals.: Compare estivate (def. 2).
to withdraw or be in seclusion; retire.
to winter in a place with a milder climate: Each winter finds us hibernating in Florida.
Origin of hibernate
1Other words from hibernate
- hi·ber·na·tion [hahy-ber-ney-shuhn], /ˌhaɪ bərˈneɪ ʃən/, noun
- hi·ber·na·tor, noun
- post·hi·ber·na·tion, adjective
- sem·i·hi·ber·na·tion, noun
Words Nearby hibernate
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use hibernate in a sentence
As of November 17, two locations are officially hibernating, ceasing operations entirely for the next few months and, hopefully, reopening when it’s safer and more profitable to serve customers again.
Why Restaurants Are ‘Hibernating’ and What That Really Means | Hillary Dixler Canavan | December 18, 2020 | EaterYou may be tempted to hibernate through the end of 2020 and beyond, but we’ve got a whole slew of books set in cold locations to keep you awake.
The perfect science fiction, fantasy and genre-bending tales for the chilly days ahead | Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Lavie Tidhar | December 18, 2020 | Washington PostTo monitor the animals’ body chemistry, “I worked in dark, cold chambers — utterly quiet —surrounded by hibernating squirrels,” Rice says.
These Arctic squirrels recycle bits of their own bodies to survive winter | Carolyn Wilke | December 16, 2020 | Science NewsThat’s the coldest body temperature ever recorded in a bird or non-hibernating mammal.
One hummingbird survives cold nights by nearly freezing stiff | Jonathan Lambert | October 26, 2020 | Science News For StudentsIt’s been well known that infants and hibernating animals have brown fat.
Gene editing can alter body fat and may fight diabetes | Silke Schmidt | October 23, 2020 | Science News For Students
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 | THE DAILY BEASTThe insects frequently hibernate in warmed houses, and may bite during the winter.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis | James Campbell ToddIt is thought that kangaroo rats do not hibernate but remain more or less active throughout the winter.
Speciation in the Kangaroo Rat, Dipodomys ordii | Henry W. SetzerWe cannot well believe that they hibernate, nor is the hypothesis of a sojourn in the middle strata of mid-ocean exactly tenable.
Tales of Fishes | Zane GreyIn winter they hibernate like our squirrels, passing several months underground in a kind of slow and nearly motionless existence.
Chatterbox, 1906 | VariousThe above facts proved that it was just at the season of the year when the bear was ready to hibernate.
Seventy Years on the Frontier | Alexander Majors
British Dictionary definitions for hibernate
/ (ˈhaɪbəˌneɪt) /
(of some mammals, reptiles, and amphibians) to pass the winter in a dormant condition with metabolism greatly slowed down: Compare aestivate
to cease from activity
Origin of hibernate
1Derived forms of hibernate
- hibernation, noun
- hibernator, noun
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
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