winter

[win-ter]

noun

1. the cold season between autumn and spring in northern latitudes (in the Northern Hemisphere from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox; in the Southern Hemisphere from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox).

2. the months of December, January, and February in the U.S., and of November, December, and January in Great Britain.

3. cold weather.

   a touch of winter in northern Florida.

4. the colder half of the year (summer ).

5. a whole year as represented by this season.

   a man of sixty winters.

6. a period like winter, as the last or final period of life; a period of decline, decay, inertia, dreariness, or adversity.

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of winter.

   a winter sunset.

2. (of fruit and vegetables) of a kind that may be kept for use during the winter.

3. planted in the autumn to be harvested in the spring or early summer.

   winter rye.

verb (used without object)

1. to spend or pass the winter.

   to winter in Italy.

2. to keep, feed, or manage during the winter, as plants or cattle.

   plants wintering indoors.

winter

/ ˈwɪntə /

noun

1. 1. (sometimes capital) the coldest season of the year, between autumn and spring, astronomically from the December solstice to the March equinox in the N hemisphere and at the opposite time of year in the S hemisphere

   2. ( as modifier )

      winter pasture

2. the period of cold weather associated with the winter

3. a time of decline, decay, etc

4. poetic,  a year represented by this season

   a man of 72 winters

verb

1. (intr) to spend the winter in a specified place

2. to keep or feed (farm animals, etc) during the winter or (of farm animals) to be kept or fed during the winter

Other Word Forms

• winterer noun
• winterish adjective
• winterishly adverb
• winterless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of winter¹

before 900; (noun) Middle English, Old English; cognate with German Winter, Old Norse vetr, Gothic wintrus; (v.) Middle English, derivative of the noun; akin to wet, water

Word History and Origins

Origin of winter¹

Old English; related to Old Saxon, Old High German wintar, Old Norse vetr, Gothic wintrus

Example Sentences

Mortgage rates are falling, and winter buyers are serious.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Regulator Ofgem will announce the next energy price cap later on Friday, with prices for millions of households expected to fall slightly at the height of winter.

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It’s winter in Dublin, 1904, and two elderly sisters are hosting a feast for the Epiphany.

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More will flick on the radio or TV on a freezing winter's night in the UK longing to be warmed by news from the other side of the planet.

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A trove of classic Polish treats for the holidays, plus fruit-and-nut-forward teatime options for the long winter ahead.

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Related Words

• cold