winter

UK: /ˈwɪntə^r/ US: /ˈwɪntɚ/ ,(win′tər)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

win•ter /ˈwɪntɚ/   n. 

1. the cold season between autumn and spring:
   [uncountable] to ski all winter.
   [countable] harsh winters.
2. cold weather:
   [uncountable] a touch of winter in the air.

adj. 

3. of or relating to winter:
   winter sports.
4. Agriculture, Botany planted in the autumn to be harvested in the spring or summer:
   winter rye.

v. [no object]

5. to spend the winter:
   to winter in Florida.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

win•ter  (win′tər), n. 

1. the cold season between autumn and spring in northern latitudes (in the Northern Hemisphere from the winter solstice to the vernal equinox;
   in the Southern Hemisphere from the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox).
2. the months of December, January, and February in the U.S., and of November, December, and January in Great Britain.
3. cold weather:
   a touch of winter in northern Florida.
4. the colder half of the year (opposed to summer).
5. a whole year as represented by this season:
   a man of sixty winters.
6. a period like winter, as the last or final period of life;
   a period of decline, decay, inertia, dreariness, or adversity.

adj. 

7. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of winter:
   a winter sunset.
8. Botany (of fruit and vegetables) of a kind that may be kept for use during the winter.
9. Agriculture, Botany planted in the autumn to be harvested in the spring or early summer:
   winter rye.

v.i. 

10. to spend or pass the winter:
    to winter in Italy.
11. to keep, feed, or manage during the winter, as plants or cattle:
    plants wintering indoors.

• bef. 900; (noun, nominal) Middle English, Old English; cognate with German Winter, Old Norse vetr, Gothic wintrus; (verb, verbal) Middle English, derivative of the noun, nominal; akin to wet, water

win′ter•er, n. 
win′ter•ish, adj. 
win′ter•ish•ly, adv. 
win′ter•less, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

winter / ˈwɪntə/ noun

1. (sometimes capital) the coldest season of the year, between autumn and spring, astronomically from the December solstice to the March equinox in the N hemisphere and at the opposite time of year in the S hemisphere
2. (as modifier): winter pasture
3. the period of cold weather associated with the winter
4. a time of decline, decay, etc
5. a year represented by this season: a man of 72 winters
   Related adjective(s): brumal, hibernal, hiemal

verb

1. (intransitive) to spend the winter in a specified place
2. to keep or feed (farm animals, etc) during the winter or (of farm animals) to be kept or fed during the winter

Etymology: Old English; related to Old Saxon, Old High German wintar, Old Norse vetr, Gothic wintrus

ˈwinterer noun

ˈwinterish, ˈwinter-ˌlike adjective

ˈwinterless adjective