winter

play

noun win·ter \ ˈwin-tər \

Definition of winter

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

See winter defined for English-language learners

See winter defined for kids

Examples of winter in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of winter from the Web

One of his first priorities, upon arriving in the winter of 2016, was to sit down with every defensive player, one-on-one.

— zach osterman, The Courier-Journal, "Wherever Tom Allen goes, improvement follows — here's why," 28 Aug. 2017
But, let’s first try a thought experiment and replace Barack Obama with Trump in the White House in the winter of 2009.

— henry porter, The Hive, "Donald Trump, Theresa May, and the End of Government as We Know It," 14 Aug. 2017
A dozen of the 300-plus species of hummingbirds live in North America in the summer and spend winters in tropical locales although climate change is affecting their migratory patterns and springtime storms may have contributed to dwindling numbers.

— vickie snow jurkowski, Daily Southtown, "August is hummingbird season," 10 Aug. 2017
Scions of industry and finance throughout the world make Palm Beach their home in the winter, bringing with them their fleet of cars.

— tinsley mortimer, Town & Country, "Is There Really a Difference Between Palm Beach and West Palm Beach?," 9 Aug. 2017
National Weather Service data also shows that because winters have been warmer and the economy has continued to improve, suburban homeowners have devoted more time and money to maintaining their lawns, feeding the grubs on which skunks dine.

— ronnie wachter, Naperville Sun, "Skunk population increase raising a stink around town," 1 Aug. 2017
Los Angeles is budgeting more than $5 billion, less than half the estimated cost of the Rio Olympics and a fraction of the $51 billion Sochi reportedly spent on the 2014 winter games.

— CBS News, "International Olympic Committee may give Los Angeles, Paris summer games," 11 July 2017
Winter in Argentina lasts from June to September, and so flights from mid-July to mid-September provide the best chance for Payne to use the polar night jet to reach the stratosphere.

— kai sinclair, Science | AAAS, "Glider aims for new heights and rare scientific data," 10 July 2017
To help prepare for the next level, Abello trained several times a week over the winter with a local boys team.

— matt le cren, Naperville Sun, "Kerry Abello playing with U-18 women's soccer national team in Australia," 6 July 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.

Origin and Etymology of winter

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German wintar winter and perhaps to Lithuanian vanduo water, Old English wæter — more at water

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

winter Synonyms

Synonyms

layoff, time-out, downtime

Related Words

break, breath, breather, interruption, lull, pause, recess; abeyance, doldrums, dormancy, latency, quiescence, suspense, suspension

Other Calendar Terms

antedate, estival, gloaming, luster, sesquicentennial

winter

verb

Definition of winter

wintered; wintering play \ˈwin-t(ə-)riŋ\

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

See winter defined for English-language learners

Examples of winter in a Sentence

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 of winter from the Web

Gerstein was the Dade County prosecutor who uncovered the first direct links between the Watergate burglary and the White House of President Richard M. Nixon, who wintered in Key Biscayne.

— howard cohen, miamiherald, "Miami circuit judge turned award-winning photographer Chuck Edelstein dies at 78," 14 July 2017
For the last seven years, Dolphin has wintered in Seward while Henry worked on her.

— doug capra, Alaska Dispatch News, "A 1945 ship, restored and ready to work another salmon run in Bristol Bay," 25 June 2017
Tracy Hendricks, a piano teacher who winters in Winter Park, drove down at the end of April to attend the Boynton Beach Short Film Festival at the Alco Boynton Cinema and Gerken had a display table in the lobby showcasing her product.

— jan engoren, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Boynton woman's invention keep birthday cakes germ-free," 21 June 2017
This year, surveyors found that wintering sites in their second and third year of infection are experiencing population decreases of 30% to 100%, the DNR said.

— lee bergquist, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Disease takes 'catastrophic' toll on Wisconsin bats," 10 May 2017
Skidata’s push to find new markets comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping tries to turn 300 million people to winter sports by the time Beijing hosts the 2022 Winter Olympics.

— hugo miller, Bloomberg.com, "Ski-Obsessed China Presents Opening for Austria's Skidata," 4 May 2017
AZ Gallery, 308 Prince St. MULTI-DATE WINTER CARNIVAL EVENTS St. Paul Winter Carnival Ice Carvings: Multi-block carving starts at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, and runs through 9 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 28.

— pioneer press, Twin Cities, "2017 St. Paul Winter Carnival schedule," 23 Jan. 2017
Armand Gamache, the retired homicide detective in Penny’s charming whodunits, is wintering in Three Pines with his wife, Reine-Marie, when the first snowfall transforms this enchanted village into a scene in a snow globe.

— marilyn stasio, New York Times, "The 10 Best Crime Novels of 2016," 2 Dec. 2016
This makes the puffin’s wintering grounds all the more important.

— robert f. bukaty, National Geographic, "Adorable Puffins Are Tougher Than They Look," 19 Feb. 2016

First Known Use of winter

14th century

winter

adjective

Definition of 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

Recent Examples of winter from the Web

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

First Known Use of winter

14th century

WINTER Defined for English Language Learners

winter

play

noun

Definition of winter for English Language Learners

: the coldest season of the year that is after autumn and before spring

winter

verb

Definition of winter for English Language Learners

: to spend the winter in a particular place
: to care for or manage (animals) during the winter

WINTER Defined for Kids

winter

play

noun win·ter \ ˈwin-tər \

Definition of winter for Students

1 :the season between autumn and spring (as from December to March in the northern half of the earth)

2 :one of the years of a person's life

a person of seventy winters

winter

verb

Definition of winter for Students

wintered; wintering

1 :to pass the winter

We wintered in Florida.

2 :to keep, feed, or manage during the winter

The farmer winters livestock on silage.

Learn More about winter

See words that rhyme with winter Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for winter Spanish Central: Translation of winter Nglish: Translation of winter for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of winter for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about winter

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up winter? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

winter

Definition of winter

From the M-W Editors

Examples of winter in a Sentence

Recent Examples of winter from the Web

Origin and Etymology of winter

winter Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Calendar Terms

winter

Definition of winter

Examples of winter in a Sentence

Recent Examples of winter from the Web

First Known Use of winter

winter

Definition of winter

Recent Examples of winter from the Web

First Known Use of winter

Phrases Related to WINTER

Related Phrases

WINTER Defined for English Language Learners

winter

Definition of winter for English Language Learners

winter

Definition of winter for English Language Learners

WINTER Defined for Kids

winter

Definition of winter for Students

winter

Definition of winter for Students

Learn More about winter

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

Breathing Life Into 'Inspire'

Trending: Kim Jong Un: Trump a 'Dotard'

These Are Fighting Words

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Words of the Year: 1066