winter

American  

[win-ter] / ˈwɪn tər /

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 British  

/ 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

Etymology

Origin of winter

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

Example Sentences

Another factor in the February report that could prove to be just a one-off: The winter was unusually cold and snowy, which may have depressed payrolls in sectors like leisure and dining.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026

It’s spring, but the EV winter has arrived.

From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026

Harsh winter weather, meanwhile, almost certainly depressed hiring in February, even if the government’s initial report didn’t show much sign of it.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 2, 2026

“We had good rains early in the winter followed by unusually warm weather,” Pauly said.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026

Once—I must have been ten or eleven—I asked Father about a poem we had read at school the winter before.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Related Words

• cold