winter

noun

win·ter | \ˈwin-tər

Definition of winter

(Entry 1 of 3)

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

winter

verb

wintered; wintering\ˈwin-t(ə-)riŋ

Definition of winter (Entry 2 of 3)

intransitive verb

1 : to pass the winter winters in the Caribbean

2 : to feed or find food during the winter —used with on

transitive verb

: to keep, feed, or manage during the winter

winter

adjective

Definition of winter (Entry 3 of 3)

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 More Example Sentences Learn More about winter

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Synonyms for winter

Synonyms: Noun

downtime, layoff, time-out

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: Noun

Lotus are native to Asia and Australia, but they can be grown anywhere the bottom of a water bed doesn’t freeze in the winter. — Kevin Ambrose, Washington Post, "Photos: Bumblebees swarm Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens as lotus flowers reach peak bloom," 9 July 2018 As a drought across much of the state persists after abysmally low snowfall in the winter, access to the 1.6-million acre Santa Fe National Forest was closed in early June. — New York Times, "‘The New Normal’: Wildfires Roar Across the West, Again," 2 July 2018 Brinson was the top prospect acquired in the winter, coming from Milwaukee as part of the Christian Yelich deal. — Matthew Defranks, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Marlins' future on display as Sandy Alcantara, Lewis Brinson lead Miami past Mets," 30 June 2018 His condition is somewhat similar to that of Sycamore's David Moskowitz, who suddenly developed similar symptoms in the winter and was eventually diagnosed with an AVM (arteriovenous malformation) a congenital disorder of blood vessels in the brain. — Scott Springer, Cincinnati.com, "Stratman Strong: Lakota West lacrosse seeks community support for family of Matt Stratman," 11 June 2018 Krause, who teaches in Naples, Fla., in the winter, will give individual and group lessons to club members through the end of the golf season and also is available for lessons to non-members. — Gary D'amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Trevino will join Favre, Jeter and North at PGA Tour Champions tournament in Madison," 31 May 2018 Morris, while at South Carolina, has been able to work out in the winter with former Gamecocks stars that are now in the minor and major leagues. — David Driver, Laurel Leader, "Cody Morris prepares for NCAA Regional tournament," 29 May 2018 Symbolically, this is the lion in winter rearing back against someone trying to (in his view unfairly) damage his long and distinguished career. — David Zurawik, baltimoresun.com, "Tom Brokaw, Joy Reid accusations demand independent investigations at NBC," 30 Apr. 2018 Shooting in winter and in black-and-white, Hong renders the character's isolation palpable before revealing the details of his affair. — Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader, "Hong Sang-soo and Kim Min-hee's real-life affair yields a trio of films about infidelity," 12 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Sabine Ranch holds some of Texas’ best remaining nesting/brood rearing habitat for mottled ducks, and its wetlands and prairie attract some of the densest concentrations of wintering waterfowl found on the upper Texas coast. — Shannon Tompkins, Houston Chronicle, "Major additions in the works for Texas’ public lands," 22 Apr. 2018 After her retirement and raising their children Nancy and Herb spent many wonderful years wintering in Delray Beach Florida with special friends Nate and Elsie. — Hartford Courant, courant.com, "Nancy B. Coman," 11 June 2018 As for its regular feathered inhabitants, the Coastside is blessed with migratory shorebirds, an abundance of gulls, breeding warblers, wintering sparrows, and a richness of raptors. — Jill K. Robinson, SFChronicle.com, "5 places to spot birds in Half Moon Bay," 12 July 2018 Streams of them funnel through the country’s southern tip, traveling to and from wintering grounds in Africa and nesting grounds in Europe. — Asher Elbein, New York Times, "Some Birds Are Better Off With Weak Immune Systems," 25 June 2018 Ocampo is a rural township about 95 miles (150 kilometers) west of Mexico City best known for the Monarch butterfly wintering grounds that occupy part of the mountainous municipality. — Mark Stevenson, Fox News, "2 mayoral candidates killed in Mexico, 18 dead so far," 21 June 2018 The main herds have been far away, absent here most of the winter, and these likely are survivors from stragglers that wintered farther east. — Seth Kantner, Anchorage Daily News, "Moments of truth: Spring on the Kobuk," 28 Apr. 2018 From its wintering grounds in Africa, the bird flies thousands of miles north to Europe to lay eggs in time for the emergence of winter moth caterpillars, which appear for a few weeks each spring to munch on young oak leaves. — New York Times, "5 Plants and Animals Utterly Confused by Climate Change," 4 Apr. 2018 Until recently, eagles at the Mystic Lakes were primarily wintering birds from up North, said Roberts, but in the last few years increasing numbers are staying throughout the year. — Don Lyman, BostonGlobe.com, "There’s a celebration at the Mystic Lakes. The eagles are here.," 26 Apr. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Winter visitors can catch a glimpse of the refuge’s migrating tundra swans. — Danielle Ohl, baltimoresun.com, "Weekend adventure: A visitor's guide to Rock Hall and its old-school, waterfront charms," 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, "Gigi Hadid Debuts Short Hair for Stuart Weitzman Campaign," 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, "Gigi Hadid Debuts Short Hair for Stuart Weitzman Campaign," 12 July 2017 In The Winter Soldier, Bucky Barnes is turned into a weapon with no agency of his own. — Jenna Pearl, Marie Claire, "9 Hidden Feminist Messages in the Marvel Cinematic Universe," 5 June 2017 Winter Carnival events for Feb. 3 and 4 will be announced later. — Kathy Berdan, Twin Cities, "Eyeing Super Bowl, St. Paul supersizes Winter Carnival to 17 days," 25 May 2017 Winter wheat and barley now lag about a week in development, compared to the last several years, according to Liza Malyshko, an analyst at UkrAgroConsult in Kiev. — Anatoly Medetsky, Bloomberg.com, "Chilly Weather Risks Delaying Black Sea Wheat, Barley Harvest," 23 May 2017 Winter color is maroon, with red tones across the green leaves in summer. — Neil Sperry, star-telegram, "Plan(t) on these top 10 best groundcover choices," 16 May 2017 Winter storm warnings are even posted in Northeastern Washington. — Paul P. Murphy, CNN, "Storm rejects springtime, dumps snow in Pacific Northwest," 16 May 2017

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