hibernate
verb
Examples of hibernate in a Sentence
Matthew Every, Field & Stream, 6 Sep. 2023
All Americans except Enrico, and look at us, in our linen and sandals, ballooning pants and billowing caftans that hibernated for two years before being brought out into the sun.
—Andrew Sean Greer, Travel + Leisure, 12 Aug. 2023
Unlike the brown bears and black bears in North America, sun bears do not hibernate for the winter.
—Carlyn Kranking, Smithsonian Magazine, 3 Aug. 2023
Millions have died since 2006 from a fungal disease called white-nose syndrome, which attacks bats when hibernating and creates fuzzy spots on their muzzles and wings.
—John Flesher, Fortune, 17 Apr. 2023
But warmer winters means bears begin hibernating later and emerge earlier.
—WIRED, 25 July 2023
The bear’s take While Ives and other Tesla bulls took a victory lap Monday, bears weren’t exactly hibernating just yet.
—Bywill Daniel, Fortune, 3 July 2023
Polar bears, which rely on winter ice to hunt, don’t hibernate at all.
—Steven Hill, Field & Stream, 22 June 2023
Understanding why, as an earlier paper noted, a bear doesn't get blood clots while hibernating, for instance, might give scientists new insights into preventing blood clots in people, said Karlsson, also of UMass Chan Medical School.
—Karen Weintraub, USA TODAY, 27 Apr. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hibernate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Latin hibernatus, past participle of hibernare to pass the winter, from hibernus of winter; akin to Latin hiems winter, Greek cheimōn
1816, in the meaning defined at sense 1
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Cite this Entry
“Hibernate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hibernate. Accessed 4 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
hibernate
verb
Medical Definition
hibernate
intransitive verb
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