overwinter

[ oh-ver-win-ter ]

verb (used without object)

to pass, spend, or survive the winter: to overwinter on the Riviera.

Origin of overwinter

First recorded in 1890–95; over- + winter, replacing Old English oferwintran “to get through the winter,” which had become obsolete by the end of the Old English period (around 1150), and modeled on Norwegian and Danish overvintre, Swedish övervintra, Dutch overwinteren, or German überwintern

Words Nearby overwinter

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use overwinter in a sentence

In the winter of 1540, a Spanish soldier named Hernando de Soto led a colonial expedition into the region, and a local leader, Chikasha Minka, gave them permission to overwinter in the town.
Centuries-old tools reveal how the Chikasha people fought off conquistadors | Sara Chodosh | July 12, 2021 | Popular-Science
Still, overwintering dinosaurs would have endured months of darkness, cold temperatures and even snowfall, Druckenmiller says.
For some dinosaurs, the Arctic may have been a great place to raise a family | Nikk Ogasa | June 24, 2021 | Science News
Local fire managers confirmed that these were the same fires, prompting the researchers to wonder just how often fires overwinter.
‘Zombie’ forest fires may become more common with climate change | Jonathan Lambert | May 19, 2021 | Science News
Year-one individuals overwinter differently from the older generation.
Does a cold winter mean fewer bugs in the summer? | Philip Kiefer | February 25, 2021 | Popular-Science
Some whales may also overwinter in the northern summering areas.
Humpback Whales in Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska | United States Department of Commerce, Marine Mammal Commission

Eggs laid in autumn overwinter and hatch the next summer, from April to August, depending upon the species.
Food of the Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos Brehm, in South-central Kansas | Dwight Platt

British Dictionary definitions for overwinter

overwinter

/ (ˌəʊvəˈwɪntə) /

verb

(intr) to spend winter (in or at a particular place)
(tr) to keep (animals or plants) alive through the winter

(intr) (of an animal or plant) to remain alive throughout the 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

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