1
: the season between autumn and spring comprising in the northern hemisphere usually the months of December, January, and February or as reckoned astronomically extending from the December solstice to the March equinox
2
: the colder half of the year
3
: year
happened many winters ago
4
: a period of inactivity or decay
wintered; wintering
ˈwin-t(ə-)riŋ 
1
: to pass the winter
winters in the Caribbean
2
: to feed or find food during the winter
—used with on
: to keep, feed, or manage during the winter
1
: of, relating to, or suitable for winter
a winter vacation
winter clothes
2
: sown in the autumn and harvested in the following spring or summer
winter wheat
winter rye
compare summer
Synonyms
Examples of winter in a Sentence
Noun
They spend winters in Florida.
We're in for a cold winter this year, I hear.
She traveled there two winters ago.
the last day of winter
Verb
The birds will winter in the southern part of the country.
My family winters in Florida.
The farm agreed to winter our horses for us.
Recent Examples on the Web
Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024
The need for low barrier shelters This winter, Hope Faith Ministries received funding from the city to create a low barrier shelter for three months.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2024
During a hunt that began in the winter of 2023, Native Americans from tribes around the region took part.
—Jim Robbins, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
In the winter of 1944–45, the Germans had cut off heating fuel and food for much of the country, and some 20,000 people had starved to death.
—Adam Hochschild, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2024
The 32-year-old New Jersey native—who is currently engaged to his childhood friend Brooke Sansone—acquired the modernist digs back in winter 2017 for around $9 million.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 23 Apr. 2024
In the winter, Banner Elk is particularly popular, as it’s located between two large ski resorts: Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 21 Apr. 2024
The eye-catching living area has vaulted ceilings that show off the logs brought in from Montana and Wisconsin, while a wood-burning stove keeps the winter cold away.
—The Indianapolis Star, 20 Apr. 2024
When your mini-succulents go dormant—in winter for some and summer for others—double the time between waterings.
—Lynn McAlpine, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Apr. 2024
Kyle Schmidbauer, Fox News, 26 Mar. 2024
While the butterfly wintered in Mexico, the organization found that the eastern monarch butterfly colonies took up 2.2 acres of regional forests.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024
Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry left behind their life in Virginia about a decade ago for what promised to be a tranquil existence at sea, their golden years spent wintering on the turquoise waters of the Caribbean.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024
The winter garden teaches us to hold critical hope
The beauty found in wintering gardens is hard to see when we are enmeshed in the hustle and noise of the world.
—Tamara Yakaboski, The Denver Post, 26 Feb. 2024
The agency closed a portion of the Fairfield District, known as the Couch Summit to Fleck Summit corridor, to protect wintering wildlife in 2017.
—Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
Disturbance by humans and domestic animals like cats and dogs can also force migrating and wintering birds to expend unnecessary energy, which can lead breeding plovers to abandon their nests and young.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 15 Nov. 2023
Why do questions about fences and genetic purity dog bison hunts the way wolves follow wintering herds in the wild?
—Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 26 Oct. 2023
The lake and seasonal swamps that nearly covered the valley provided fish and an abundance of birds, most of them wintering waterfowl.
—Franz Lidz, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2023
Though convention might tell us to spruce and upgrade our space in the spring (alongside a feverish amount of post-winter cleaning), there is a case to be made for elevating your home right now, mid-fall and pre-holidays.
—PEOPLE.com, 16 Nov. 2021
The park usually has a post-winter cleanup day for staff around Earth Day but hadn’t done one for the public before, officials said.
—Amy Lavalley, chicagotribune.com, 22 Apr. 2021
That means four seasons of activities, all building on what Buck Hill already does post-winter: concerts, car shows, mountain biking and catered events.
—Lee Svitak Dean, Star Tribune, 14 Sep. 2020
Winter visitors can catch a glimpse of the refuge’s migrating tundra swans.
—Danielle Ohl, baltimoresun.com, 3 Aug. 2017
Gigi appears in Stuart Weitzman's Fall/Winter 2017 campaign in the sleekest boots (including The Cling Bootie), bright pink blush, and a Shay Ashual wig that totally fooled us at first glance.
—Sarah Wu, Allure, 12 July 2017
Gigi appeared in Stuart Weitzman's Fall/Winter 2017 campaign in the sleekest boots (including The Cling Bootie), bright pink blush, and a Shay Ashual wig that totally fooled us at first glance.
—Sarah Wu, Teen Vogue, 12 July 2017
In The Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes is turned into a weapon with no agency of his own.
—Jenna Pearl, Marie Claire, 5 June 2017
Noun
The animals, who tend to hibernate in the winter and emerge in March and April, can reach speeds of 30 mph and stand at 7 ft tall.
—Angel Saunders, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024
The need for low barrier shelters This winter, Hope Faith Ministries received funding from the city to create a low barrier shelter for three months.
—Noelle Alviz-Gransee, Kansas City Star, 24 Apr. 2024
During a hunt that began in the winter of 2023, Native Americans from tribes around the region took part.
—Jim Robbins, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
In the winter of 1944–45, the Germans had cut off heating fuel and food for much of the country, and some 20,000 people had starved to death.
—Adam Hochschild, The Atlantic, 23 Apr. 2024
The 32-year-old New Jersey native—who is currently engaged to his childhood friend Brooke Sansone—acquired the modernist digs back in winter 2017 for around $9 million.
—Wendy Bowman, Robb Report, 23 Apr. 2024
In the winter, Banner Elk is particularly popular, as it’s located between two large ski resorts: Beech Mountain and Sugar Mountain.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 21 Apr. 2024
The eye-catching living area has vaulted ceilings that show off the logs brought in from Montana and Wisconsin, while a wood-burning stove keeps the winter cold away.
—The Indianapolis Star, 20 Apr. 2024
When your mini-succulents go dormant—in winter for some and summer for others—double the time between waterings.
—Lynn McAlpine, Better Homes & Gardens, 19 Apr. 2024
Verb
However, Mexico has reported a decreasing monarch presence over the past few winters; last year saw a 22% drop over 2022, and this year saw a 59% drop over last – meaning monarchs are wintering there at the second-lowest rate ever recorded.
—Kyle Schmidbauer, Fox News, 26 Mar. 2024
While the butterfly wintered in Mexico, the organization found that the eastern monarch butterfly colonies took up 2.2 acres of regional forests.
—Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 12 Mar. 2024
Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry left behind their life in Virginia about a decade ago for what promised to be a tranquil existence at sea, their golden years spent wintering on the turquoise waters of the Caribbean.
—Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 27 Feb. 2024
The winter garden teaches us to hold critical hope
The beauty found in wintering gardens is hard to see when we are enmeshed in the hustle and noise of the world.
—Tamara Yakaboski, The Denver Post, 26 Feb. 2024
The agency closed a portion of the Fairfield District, known as the Couch Summit to Fleck Summit corridor, to protect wintering wildlife in 2017.
—Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
Disturbance by humans and domestic animals like cats and dogs can also force migrating and wintering birds to expend unnecessary energy, which can lead breeding plovers to abandon their nests and young.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 15 Nov. 2023
Why do questions about fences and genetic purity dog bison hunts the way wolves follow wintering herds in the wild?
—Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 26 Oct. 2023
The lake and seasonal swamps that nearly covered the valley provided fish and an abundance of birds, most of them wintering waterfowl.
—Franz Lidz, New York Times, 28 Aug. 2023
Adjective
Winter weather in North Dakota, Minnesota People in northern North Dakota and Minnesota can expect to see snow with some winter advisories in effect through Friday night.
—Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 21 Apr. 2023
Though convention might tell us to spruce and upgrade our space in the spring (alongside a feverish amount of post-winter cleaning), there is a case to be made for elevating your home right now, mid-fall and pre-holidays.
—PEOPLE.com, 16 Nov. 2021
The park usually has a post-winter cleanup day for staff around Earth Day but hadn’t done one for the public before, officials said.
—Amy Lavalley, chicagotribune.com, 22 Apr. 2021
That means four seasons of activities, all building on what Buck Hill already does post-winter: concerts, car shows, mountain biking and catered events.
—Lee Svitak Dean, Star Tribune, 14 Sep. 2020
Winter visitors can catch a glimpse of the refuge’s migrating tundra swans.
—Danielle Ohl, baltimoresun.com, 3 Aug. 2017
Gigi appears in Stuart Weitzman's Fall/Winter 2017 campaign in the sleekest boots (including The Cling Bootie), bright pink blush, and a Shay Ashual wig that totally fooled us at first glance.
—Sarah Wu, Allure, 12 July 2017
Gigi appeared in Stuart Weitzman's Fall/Winter 2017 campaign in the sleekest boots (including The Cling Bootie), bright pink blush, and a Shay Ashual wig that totally fooled us at first glance.
—Sarah Wu, Teen Vogue, 12 July 2017
In The Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes is turned into a weapon with no agency of his own.
—Jenna Pearl, Marie Claire, 5 June 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'winter.' 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 winter
Cite this Entry
“Winter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/winter. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
winter
1 of 3 noun
win·ter
ˈwint-ər
1
: the season between autumn and spring usually including in the northern half of the globe the months of December, January, and February
2
: year sense 2
happened many winters ago
3
: a time or season of idleness or decay
winter
2 of 3 verb
wintered; wintering
ˈwint-ə-riŋ
ˈwin-triŋ
1
: to pass or live through the winter
the cattle wintered on the range
2
: to keep, feed, or manage during the winter
winter livestock
winter
3 of 3 adjective1
: of, relating to, or suitable for winter
winter clothes
2
: sown in autumn and harvested in the following spring or summer
winter wheat
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