winter

 
Pronunciation: /ˈwɪntə/

noun

  • the coldest season of the year, in the northern hemisphere from December to February and in the southern hemisphere from June to August: the tree has a good crop of berries in winter [as modifier]: the winter months
  • Astronomy the period from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox.
  • (winters) literary years: he seemed a hundred winters old

adjective

[attributive]
  • (of fruit) ripening late in the year: a winter apple
  • (of wheat or other crops) sown in autumn for harvesting the following year.

verb

[no object, with adverbial of place]
  • (especially of a bird) spend the winter in a particular place: birds wintering in the Channel Islands
  • [with object] keep or feed (plants or cattle) during winter.

Derivatives

winterer

noun

winterless

adjective

winterly

adjective

Origin:

Old English, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch winter and German Winter, probably also to wet