winter
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).
the months of December, January, and February in the U.S., and of November, December, and January in Great Britain.
cold weather: a touch of winter in northern Florida.
the colder half of the year (opposed to summer).
a whole year as represented by this season: a man of sixty winters.
a period like winter, as the last or final period of life; a period of decline, decay, inertia, dreariness, or adversity.
of, relating to, or characteristic of winter: a winter sunset.
(of fruit and vegetables) of a kind that may be kept for use during the winter.
planted in the autumn to be harvested in the spring or early summer: winter rye.
to spend or pass the winter: to winter in Italy.
to keep, feed, or manage during the winter, as plants or cattle: plants wintering indoors.
Origin of winter
1Other words from winter
- win·ter·er, noun
- win·ter·ish, adjective
- win·ter·ish·ly, adverb
- win·ter·less, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use winter in a sentence
Wild, Harrison and Hoadley went to examine the shelf-ice with a view to its suitability for a wintering station.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas MawsonWe were soon at the Hut where I found that full preparations had been made for wintering a second year.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas MawsonShortly the tribe moved away to its wintering-grounds, the young couple following after.
The Way of an Indian | Frederic RemingtonThis winter, High Head, with his little band of eleven men, was wintering at the old place.
Red Hunters And the Animal People | Charles A. EastmanThis was once a great wintering place for deer and elk, and, higher up, for bighorn.
Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park | James Willard Schultz
British Dictionary definitions for winter
/ (ˈwɪntə) /
(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
(as modifier): winter pasture
the period of cold weather associated with the winter
a time of decline, decay, etc
mainly poetic a year represented by this season: a man of 72 winters Related adjectives: brumal, hibernal, hiemal
(intr) to spend the winter in a specified place
to keep or feed (farm animals, etc) during the winter or (of farm animals) to be kept or fed during the winter
Origin of winter
1Derived forms of winter
- winterer, noun
- winterish or winter-like, adjective
- winterless, adjective
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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