seasonal

adjective sea·son·al \ ˈsēz-nəl , ˈsē-zᵊn-əl \

|Updated on: 9 Jun 2018

Examples: seasonal in a Sentence

Definition of seasonal

1 : of, relating to, or varying in occurrence according to the season

seasonal storms

2 : affected or caused by seasonal need or availability

seasonal industries

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seasonality

play \ˌsē-zə-ˈna-lə-tē\ noun

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seasonally

play \ˈsēz-nə-lē, ˈsē-zᵊn-ə-lē\ adverb

See seasonal defined for English-language learners

See seasonal defined for kids

Examples of seasonal in a Sentence

The rise in gas prices is seasonal.
The store hires seasonal workers during the holidays.

Recent Examples of seasonal from the Web

The local economy in Rockaway Beach is seasonal, a three-month bastion of beach culture a train ride from Times Square.

— New York Times, "City Studied Rockaway Erosion, Found No Issue. Then It Closed the Beach.," 24 May 2018
Hot dogs aren’t exactly seasonal, but something about the arrival of warmer weather just cries out for frankfurters.

— kate washington, sacbee, "Sacramento is taking its hot-dog game to the next level | The Sacramento Bee," 18 May 2018
The trans-Atlantic market is highly seasonal, and the drop-off in traffic has in the past forced discounters to offer even lower fares to fill their planes in the winter.

— doug cameron, WSJ, "Airlines Add Smaller Jets in Busy Trans-Atlantic Market," 15 May 2018
Inner Loop Cloud 10 Creamery Chef Chris Leung's small-batch ice creams and sorbets are seasonal and might feature unusual ingredients such as cheddar cheese, coriander or pomegranate.

— Houston Chronicle, "Dip into ice cream shops in Houston and Galveston," 10 May 2018
Lobster dealers say the market prices are seasonal, and that March and April always tend to be the tightest market for the crustaceans.

— janelle nanos, BostonGlobe.com, "A $49 lobster roll? A recent shortage has lobster prices soaring.," 22 Apr. 2018
HB Seafood opened in 2014, offering lobster rolls, fried shellfish platters and fish tacos, but Matt Malahan says the business ultimately proved to be too seasonal, as the majority of customers would just dine there in the summertime.

— leeanne griffin, courant.com, "Noodie Asian Noodles & Rice Bowls: A Fun, Simple, From-Scratch Menu," 2 Apr. 2018
Both are year-round marinas, although some facilities and shops are seasonal.

— spud hilton, San Francisco Chronicle, "Easy ways to enjoy Lake Oroville’s watery wonders," 16 Mar. 2018
But seasonal cooking was always in the back of her mind because of her experience making things grow.

— grant butler, OregonLive.com, "A year in simple, seasonal Pacific Northwest cooking," 15 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'seasonal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of seasonal

1838

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

Financial Definition of SEASONAL

seasonality

noun

What It Is

Seasonality is a fluctuation in sales or profits during the course of a fiscal year.

How It Works

For example, the restaurant industry is somewhat seasonal. Sales for many companies are stronger in summer and fall (the second and third quarter) and are lower in the winter and early spring (the fourth and first quarter). Much of this is attributable to New Year's resolutions to diet, spend less or cook more; the April 15 annual tax deadline also makes consumers more money-conscious. Accordingly, the sales of restaurant companies go up and down throughout the year but in a somewhat predictable pattern.

Why It Matters

Seasonality is a major reason that an investor or analyst can't just make an annual sales projection and then expect the company to meet 1/12 of that sales or profit projection every month. Some months will be higher, some months will be lower. Knowing how much higher or lower those sales should be month to month will make for more accurate seasonal projections.

Source: Investing Answers