1
: the season between spring and autumn comprising in the northern hemisphere usually the months of June, July, and August or as reckoned astronomically extending from the June solstice to the September equinox
2
: the warmer half of the year
3
: year
a girl of seventeen summers
4
: a period of maturing powers
1
: of, relating to, or suitable for summer
summer vacation
a summer home
2
: sown in the spring and harvested in the same year as sown
summer wheat
compare winter
summered; summering
ˈsə-mə-riŋ 
ˈsəm-riŋ
: to pass the summer
: to keep or carry through the summer
especially
: to provide (cattle, sheep, etc.) with pasture during the summer
Examples of summer in a Sentence
Noun
What are your plans for this summer?
We visited them two summers ago.
the first day of summer
Recent Examples on the Web
Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
With Paris hosting the Olympic Games this summer, the Louvre is expecting a deluge of visitors.
—Chloe Veltman, NPR, 28 Apr. 2024
Stoney was asked if the setback could affect the forward’s availability to attain peak form going into the Olympics this summer in France.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Apr. 2024
Eras will also make its way to Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Austria by the end of the summer.
—Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 28 Apr. 2024
More:College student should go to summer camp More:Runner needs to leap over frequent texter
My brother died last year.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 28 Apr. 2024
Aside from the vibrant striped pattern, a few other colors are on sale too, including a cream that’s perfect for summer and a gray shade minimalists will adore.
—Melissa Epifano, Peoplemag, 27 Apr. 2024
This summer, the hotel is unveiling their new restaurant ‘More’ by Cas Gasi, which will be open year-round.
—Monica Mendal, Vogue, 27 Apr. 2024
Rainbow Blossom is readying to open a sixth location this summer.
—Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 16 Apr. 2024
Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic, 7 July 2023
Those beach days might be long behind us, but the supermodel is still making the most of her post-summer glow.
—Hannah Oh, Seventeen, 4 Nov. 2022
When Nature Calls kicked off the 1995 holiday season with a then-record (for a non-summer opening) $38 million launch.
—Scott Mendelson, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2021
Donate blood: The American Red Cross continues to experience an emergency blood and platelet shortage that has caused the blood supply to drop to the lowest post-summer level in at least six years.
—Sam Boyer, cleveland, 15 Oct. 2021
As California reached another post-summer high in the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized statewide, Texas and Illinois, with about 10 million and 6.4 million fewer residents, respectively, surpassed California’s total.
—Chronicle Staff, SFChronicle.com, 27 Nov. 2020
His numbers in The Crawsover, Jamal Crawford’s pro-am summer league at Seattle Pacific University, also raised eyebrows.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Aug. 2019
Orlando will play its summer league opener Friday afternoon against the Brooklyn Nets at Cox Pavilion.
—Josh Robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, 2 July 2018
To be able to play NBA summer league, to get playing time, to get opportunities on the offensive end, to get a comfort level playing against stronger, elite athletes at this level?
—J. Michael, Indianapolis Star, 11 July 2018
Jaden Thompson, Variety, 11 Jan. 2024
The girls who summered on Nantucket and eschewed carbs?
—Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024
These include father-son pairs, Anderson told me, who summer in places like the Hamptons, travel to surf overseas twice a year, and order four or five new boards for every trip.
—Bydaniel Duane, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2023
The former first couple executive produced the film under their Higher Ground banner and are among the high-profile families who summer on the Vineyard.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 29 Sep. 2023
Latte makeup spilled all over TikTok, Hailey Bieber made strawberry girl summer a thing, and things just got a little bit sweeter (and shinier) with honey lips taking over screens and mouths everywhere.
—Annie Blay, Allure, 10 Aug. 2023
Prehistoric mammoth hunters roamed here for thousands of years, followed by the Ute and Arapaho people who summered within the current park bounds until the early 1800s.
—Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 July 2023
The newest is Resilient Lady, which launched in May and will summer in the Mediterranean.
—Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 11 July 2023
Don Lemon is enjoying his free time following his sudden termination from CNN in April, a source tells PEOPLE, adding that the former CNN This Morning co-host is summering in the Hamptons with his fiancé Tim Malone and mulling various next steps in his career.
—Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 15 June 2023
Noun
The regent was not in favor of moving to dismantle protest encampments, saying escalation would be unwise, but added that board members planned to have discussions this summer about what should be the proper time, place and manner of protests.
—Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, 28 Apr. 2024
With Paris hosting the Olympic Games this summer, the Louvre is expecting a deluge of visitors.
—Chloe Veltman, NPR, 28 Apr. 2024
Stoney was asked if the setback could affect the forward’s availability to attain peak form going into the Olympics this summer in France.
—Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 28 Apr. 2024
Eras will also make its way to Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the U.K., Ireland, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Poland and Austria by the end of the summer.
—Ashley Iasimone, Billboard, 28 Apr. 2024
More:College student should go to summer camp More:Runner needs to leap over frequent texter
My brother died last year.
—Amy Dickinson, Detroit Free Press, 28 Apr. 2024
Aside from the vibrant striped pattern, a few other colors are on sale too, including a cream that’s perfect for summer and a gray shade minimalists will adore.
—Melissa Epifano, Peoplemag, 27 Apr. 2024
This summer, the hotel is unveiling their new restaurant ‘More’ by Cas Gasi, which will be open year-round.
—Monica Mendal, Vogue, 27 Apr. 2024
Rainbow Blossom is readying to open a sixth location this summer.
—Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, 16 Apr. 2024
Adjective
The new allowances cut summer units from 10 to 8 and non-summer units from 6 to 5.
—Taylor Seely, The Arizona Republic, 7 July 2023
Those beach days might be long behind us, but the supermodel is still making the most of her post-summer glow.
—Hannah Oh, Seventeen, 4 Nov. 2022
When Nature Calls kicked off the 1995 holiday season with a then-record (for a non-summer opening) $38 million launch.
—Scott Mendelson, Forbes, 6 Oct. 2021
Donate blood: The American Red Cross continues to experience an emergency blood and platelet shortage that has caused the blood supply to drop to the lowest post-summer level in at least six years.
—Sam Boyer, cleveland, 15 Oct. 2021
As California reached another post-summer high in the number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized statewide, Texas and Illinois, with about 10 million and 6.4 million fewer residents, respectively, surpassed California’s total.
—Chronicle Staff, SFChronicle.com, 27 Nov. 2020
His numbers in The Crawsover, Jamal Crawford’s pro-am summer league at Seattle Pacific University, also raised eyebrows.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Aug. 2019
Orlando will play its summer league opener Friday afternoon against the Brooklyn Nets at Cox Pavilion.
—Josh Robbins, OrlandoSentinel.com, 2 July 2018
To be able to play NBA summer league, to get playing time, to get opportunities on the offensive end, to get a comfort level playing against stronger, elite athletes at this level?
—J. Michael, Indianapolis Star, 11 July 2018
Verb
The romantic comedy stars Gary Grimes as a teenage boy summering on Nantucket who meets an older newlywed woman (Jennifer O’Neill) whose husband is fighting in World War II.
—Jaden Thompson, Variety, 11 Jan. 2024
The girls who summered on Nantucket and eschewed carbs?
—Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 4 Jan. 2024
These include father-son pairs, Anderson told me, who summer in places like the Hamptons, travel to surf overseas twice a year, and order four or five new boards for every trip.
—Bydaniel Duane, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2023
The former first couple executive produced the film under their Higher Ground banner and are among the high-profile families who summer on the Vineyard.
—Angelique Jackson, Variety, 29 Sep. 2023
Latte makeup spilled all over TikTok, Hailey Bieber made strawberry girl summer a thing, and things just got a little bit sweeter (and shinier) with honey lips taking over screens and mouths everywhere.
—Annie Blay, Allure, 10 Aug. 2023
Prehistoric mammoth hunters roamed here for thousands of years, followed by the Ute and Arapaho people who summered within the current park bounds until the early 1800s.
—Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 July 2023
The newest is Resilient Lady, which launched in May and will summer in the Mediterranean.
—Paul Brady, Travel + Leisure, 11 July 2023
Don Lemon is enjoying his free time following his sudden termination from CNN in April, a source tells PEOPLE, adding that the former CNN This Morning co-host is summering in the Hamptons with his fiancé Tim Malone and mulling various next steps in his career.
—Virginia Chamlee, Peoplemag, 15 June 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'summer.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near summer
Cite this Entry
“Summer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/summer. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
summer
1 of 3 noun
sum·mer
ˈsəm-ər
1
: the season between spring and autumn that usually includes the months of June, July, and August in the northern hemisphere
2
: the warmer half of the year
3
: one of the years of one's life
a child of eight summers
4
: a time of fulfillment
summer
2 of 3 adjective
: of or for the summer
summer flowers
a summer job
summer
3 of 3 verb
summered; summering
ˈsəm-(ə-)riŋ
1
: to pass the summer
2
: to keep or carry through the summer
especially
: to provide (as cattle or sheep) with pasture during the summer
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