summer
1 Americannoun
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the season between spring and autumn, in the Northern Hemisphere from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox, and in the Southern Hemisphere from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox.
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the period comprising the months of June, July, and August in the United States, and from the middle of May to the middle of August in Great Britain.
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a period of hot, usually sunny weather.
We had no real summer last year.
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the hotter half of the year (opposed to winter).
They spend the summers in New Hampshire and the winters in Florida.
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the period of finest development, perfection, or beauty previous to any decline.
the summer of life.
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a whole year as represented by this season.
a girl of fifteen summers.
adjective
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of, relating to, or characteristic of summer.
Iced tea is a summer drink.
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appropriate for or done during the summer.
summer clothes;
summer sports.
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having the weather or warmth of summer.
summer days in late October.
verb (used without object)
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summers,
present (3rd person singular)
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summered,
past participle, past
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summering
present participle
verb (used with object)
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summers,
present (3rd person singular)
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summered,
past participle, past
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summering
present participle
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to keep, feed, or manage during the summer.
Sheep are summered in high pastures.
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to make summerlike.
noun
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a principal beam or girder, as one running between girts to support joists.
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a stone laid upon a pier, column, or wall, from which one or more arches spring: usually molded or otherwise treated like the arch or arches springing from it.
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a beam or lintel.
noun
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(sometimes capital)
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the warmest season of the year, between spring and autumn, astronomically from the June solstice to the September equinox in the N hemisphere and at the opposite time of year in the S hemisphere
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( as modifier )
summer flowers
a summer dress
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the period of hot weather associated with the summer
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a time of blossoming, greatest happiness, etc
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poetic a year represented by this season
a child of nine summers
verb
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(intr) to spend the summer (at a place)
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(tr) to keep or feed (farm animals) during the summer
they summered their cattle on the mountain slopes
noun
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Also called: summer tree. a large horizontal beam or girder, esp one that supports floor joists
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another name for lintel
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a stone on the top of a column, pier, or wall that supports an arch or lintel
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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summersimple
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summerssimple
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have summeredperfect
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has summeredperfect
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am summeringprogressive
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are summeringprogressive
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is summeringprogressive
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have been summeringperfect progressive
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has been summeringperfect progressive
Past
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summeredsimple
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had summeredperfect
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was summeringprogressive
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were summeringprogressive
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had been summeringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of summer1
First recorded before 900; Middle English somer, Old English sumor; cognate with Dutch zomer, German Sommer, Old Norse sumar “summer”; akin to Sanskrit sámā “season, half-year, year,” Old Irish sam-, Old Welsh ham, Welsh haf “summer”
Origin of summer2
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English somer, from Anglo-French; Old French somier “packhorse, beam,” from unattested Vulgar Latin saumārius, equivalent to Latin sagm(a) “packsaddle” (from Greek ságma ) + -ārius noun suffix; see -ary, -er 2
Explanation
Summer is the season after spring and before autumn. In the summer, the weather is warmer and many students get a break from school. If you live in the Northern Hemisphere, summer lasts from June to September, and if you travel in December to Australia or somewhere else in the Southern Hemisphere, you'll get to experience summer all over again. When fancy people talk about what they do during the summer, they may use it as a verb: "Oh, we summer in Maine."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She pointed to negative newsflow that weighed on the mood among Chinese shoppers over the summer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026
Meyer and Ogunlesi reportedly began their romance in the summer of 2023 and made their relationship red-carpet official at the Baby2Baby Gala later that fall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2026
Lankshear joined Boro from Spurs in the summer on a five-year contract in a deal that could rise to a club record buy of £20m.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Their portfolio preference right now is a barbell strategy of global tech stocks and rate-sensitive, low-volatility, high-dividend bond proxy stocks, which they noted have gotten cheaper since summer.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026
Around me, people are hugging and laughing, making plans to hang out over the summer and saying, “See you in the fall.”
From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison
Some have wanted to escape Washington’s notorious humid summers, while others longed to flee the cold and create a “winter White House” in warmer climes.
From Salon ● Oct. 10, 2026
John, who has spent over 20 summers on Hupper Island, a refuge about 90 miles northeast of Portland with no cars and barely two dozen homes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026
Now, his latest real estate purchase gives the former governor a substantial new foothold in the Hamptons—complete with enough acreage and amenities to turn his summers into a decidedly resortlike affair.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
"As children, we used to spend all our summers swimming at the beach, having fun by the water, diving, jumping in and sometimes even fishing," the 76-year-old told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
There was little to do in Clarkston in the summers but sweat.
From "Outcasts United: An American Town, a Refugee Team, and One Woman's Quest to Make a Difference" by Warren St. John
Throughout her life, she summered in Maine near Franklin Roosevelt, yet she was among those drawn to “settlement houses.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 24, 2026
Richard Nixon — who was born in Yorba Linda, attended Fullerton High, had his first law office in La Habra and summered in San Clemente during his presidency — might seem like an obvious choice.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2024
Driscoll and her husband summered on the New Jersey shore, in Point Pleasant, until he retired in 1930.
From New York Times ● Feb. 23, 2023
That’s where she summered as she continued to write new books and churn out editions of her etiquette bible.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2022
“At least one new family has built a hedge to avoid people seeing them as they pass by,” said Wade Green, seventy- two, who has summered here for years.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Later that decade, Avery befriended Rothko and then Gottlieb, and by 1932 all three were summering in Gloucester, spending their mornings sketching or painting the harbor, the wharfs, the sea, the beach and the bathers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
He’s boastfully summering in Italy and reveling in his luxurious wedding on All-In, the podcast that he co-hosts.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2023
Drinking Aperol spritzes, summering in any destination where tomatoes are part of the common diet and reading by the beach are all foundational to this aesthetic and lifestyle.
From Salon ● Aug. 21, 2023
Part of the Quinault Indian Nation, it was traditionally used as summering grounds for salmon fishing, hunting, berry picking and recreation.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2023
“The fever has assumed a most alarming appearance,” Rush wrote to his wife, Julia, who was summering in Princeton with their youngest children.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
