summer

1 of 3

noun

sum·​mer ˈsə-mər How to pronounce summer (audio)
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
summerlike adjective

summer

2 of 3

adjective

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

summer

3 of 3

verb

summered; summering ˈsə-mə-riŋ How to pronounce summer (audio)
ˈsəm-riŋ

intransitive verb

: to pass the summer

transitive verb

: 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
Noun
Fertilizer Fertilize a pineapple plant monthly during summer with a water-soluble fertilizer. Grace Haynes, Southern Living, 11 Mar. 2024 During the summer, Lipow expects the national average to range between $3.50 and $3.75 a gallon. Matt Egan, CNN, 11 Mar. 2024 The effort was reminiscent of Horan’s header-goal against the Netherlands that produced a 1-1 tie in the World Cup last summer. Tom Krasovic, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Mar. 2024 The couple lived in Pleasant Hill before moving to Salt Lake City last summer. Kirk Kern, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 Narcan, the nasal spray version of naloxone, has received F.D.A. approval to be sold over the counter and should be widely available by late summer. Jan Hoffman, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2024 In the summer of 2022, a second young Immanuel churchgoer stepped forward and accused Miller of abuse. Frank E. Lockwood, arkansasonline.com, 10 Mar. 2024 The plan has lost some of its progressive edge during negotiations since last summer because of fierce opposition from the EPP, which along with other conservatives and the far right has insisted the plans would undermine food security, fuel inflation and hurt farmers. Raf Casert, Quartz, 28 Feb. 2024 Late last summer, Francina rented a bedroom in a house in her district for $950 a month plus utilities, along with a $300-per-month storage unit. Hailey Branson-Potts, Los Angeles Times, 28 Feb. 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.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English sumer, from Old English sumor; akin to Old High German & Old Norse sumer summer, Sanskrit samā year, season

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of summer was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near summer

Cite this Entry

“Summer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/summer. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

summer

1 of 3 noun
sum·​mer ˈsəm-ər How to pronounce summer (audio)
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 How to pronounce summer (audio)
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

More from Merriam-Webster on summer

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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