autumn

noun

au·​tumn ˈȯ-təm 

1

: the season between summer and winter comprising in the northern hemisphere usually the months of September, October, and November or as reckoned astronomically extending from the September equinox to the December solstice

called also fall

2

: a period of maturity or incipient decline

in the autumn of life

Synonyms

• afterlife
• afternoon
• age
• evening

Examples of autumn in a Sentence

in the autumn of last year

a magnificent New England autumn

She went off to college in the autumn of 1999.

When autumn came he planted grass.

Recent Examples on the Web

Cool-Season Grasses Early autumn is the ideal time to seed cool-season turfgrasses. —Kim Toscano, Southern Living, 12 June 2025

The autumn harvest season is one of the best times to visit the Langhe Hills of Piedmont. —Irene S. Levine, Forbes.com, 11 June 2025

Thousands flocked to see the bag when it was exhibited publicly at Sotheby’s Paris Galleries last autumn, and then at Sotheby’s Maison in Hong Kong earlier this year, the auction house added. —Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 5 June 2025

The sum was, at the time, a record for a rights issue by a European company and followed the U.K. bank's calamitous acquisition, the previous autumn, of the Dutch lender ABN AMRO. —Ian King, CNBC, 4 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English autumpne, borrowed from Anglo-French autompne, borrowed from Latin autumnus (also an adjective, "autumnal"), perhaps a borrowing from Etruscan

Note: Ernout and Meillet (Dictionaire étymologique de la langue latine) regard an Etruscan origin as definite ("sans doute") and compare the form to Vertumnus/Vortumnus, claimed by Varro to be an Etruscan god. (The Romans regarded Vertumnus as a god of the changing seasons, by association with the verb vertere "to turn.")

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing autumn

• autumn crocus

Rhymes for autumn

• bottom
• scrotum

Kids Definition

autumn

noun

au·​tumn ˈȯt-əm 

1

: the season between summer and winter including in the northern hemisphere usually the months of September, October, and November

called also fall

2

: a time late in an existence

in the autumn of life

autumnal

ȯ-ˈtəm-nəl 

adjective