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View synonyms for hibernate

hibernate

[ hahy-ber-neyt ]

verb (used without object)

, hi·ber·nat·ed, hi·ber·nat·ing.
  1. Zoology. to spend the winter in close quarters in a dormant condition, as bears and certain other animals. Compare estivate ( def 2 ).
  2. to withdraw or be in seclusion; retire.
  3. to winter in a place with a milder climate:

    Each winter finds us hibernating in Florida.



hibernate

/ ˈhaɪbəˌneɪt /

verb

  1. (of some mammals, reptiles, and amphibians) to pass the winter in a dormant condition with metabolism greatly slowed down Compare aestivate
  2. to cease from activity
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˈhiberˌnator, noun
  • ˌhiberˈnation, noun
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Other Words From

  • hi·ber·na·tion [hahy-ber-, ney, -sh, uh, n], noun
  • hi·ber·na·tor noun
  • post·hi·ber·na·tion adjective
  • sem·i·hi·ber·na·tion noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hibernate1

First recorded in 1795–1805, hibernate is from the Latin word hībernātus (past participle of hībernāre to spend the winter). See hibernal, -ate 1
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hibernate1

C19: from Latin hībernāre to spend the winter, from hībernus of winter, from hiems winter
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Example Sentences

As of November 17, two locations are officially hibernating, ceasing operations entirely for the next few months and, hopefully, reopening when it’s safer and more profitable to serve customers again.

From Eater

You may be tempted to hibernate through the end of 2020 and beyond, but we’ve got a whole slew of books set in cold locations to keep you awake.

To monitor the animals’ body chemistry, “I worked in dark, cold chambers — utterly quiet —surrounded by hibernating squirrels,” Rice says.

That’s the coldest body temperature ever recorded in a bird or non-hibernating mammal.

It’s been well known that infants and hibernating animals have brown fat.

After these well-meaning moments they are left alone to hibernate with their own devastation.

The insects frequently hibernate in warmed houses, and may bite during the winter.

It is thought that kangaroo rats do not hibernate but remain more or less active throughout the winter.

We cannot well believe that they hibernate, nor is the hypothesis of a sojourn in the middle strata of mid-ocean exactly tenable.

In winter they hibernate like our squirrels, passing several months underground in a kind of slow and nearly motionless existence.

The above facts proved that it was just at the season of the year when the bear was ready to hibernate.

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hibernalhibernation