hibernate

American  

[hahy-ber-neyt] / 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

It’s a time to hibernate, rest and nourish yourself in preparation for the year of parties ahead.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 15, 2026

"We know they come here to mate, to hibernate, but what we don't know is why they make this journey."

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 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

Tuberculosis is caused by bacteria that, after infecting a person, tend to hibernate in the body.

From Slate ● Mar. 28, 2025

Perhaps the monster, whatever it was, was even now settling itself down to hibernate for another fifty years.

From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" 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

One of the largest toads native to North America and remarkably long-lived with a life span reaching 20 years, it hibernates underground for most of the year, resurfacing to breed around the summer monsoon rains.

From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2022

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

Without Thompson — and largely without Curry, who broke his hand and missed all but five games — Golden State hibernated through the 2019-20 season, finishing with the worst record in the league.

From New York Times ● Oct. 19, 2021

So I took to the cellar; I hibernated.

From "Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison

As hibernating animals, marmots put on weight before winter.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Titus and Bjorklund shoveled mounds of ice over the crabs, putting them in a hibernating state to make it easier to transfer them into containers to be weighed.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 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

Cook: This spicy, smoky chili is perfect after a long day skiing — or hibernating.

From New York Times ● Feb. 12, 2024

Her teacher said that the lemmings had a chemical similar to antifreeze in their blood, that kept them active all winter when other little mammals were hibernating.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

Related Words

• hole up