summer
Pluralsummers
Verbsummers, summering, summered
Pluralsummers
Formssummers, summering, summered
- 1The warm season between spring and fall, when days are longest and hottest.
Like the warmest stretch of the year, when school is often out and the sun stays up late.
We always go to the lake in summer.
Summer is my favorite time to play outside all day.
UsageSay in the summer, but last summer with no in.
Oppositewinter
- 2
- 3The best and happiest time of something's life, like its golden days.
Like the brightest, fullest part of the day before the sun begins to set.
The 1960s were the summer of that little seaside town.
Those years were the summer of her career, full of success.
UsageOften the summer of your life.
Similarprime, heyday, peak, zenith
Oppositewinter
Less common meanings
- 4A year of someone's life, used to tell a young person's age.
Like counting birthdays: each summer that passes is one more year of life.
The girl was just seven summers old.
Our little girl has seen only six summers.
UsageUsed with a number: ten summers old.
Similaryear
Note
- 5A person with cool, light skin, light hair, and light eyes who looks best in soft cool colors.
Like sorting people by which colors suit them, the way you pick a paint that matches a room.
As a summer, she looks lovely in soft blues and grays.
The stylist told him he was a summer and should wear cool colors.
Note
- 6A horse used to carry heavy loads on its back.
- 7A person or machine that adds numbers or amounts together to get a total.
- 8A strong horizontal beam that holds up part of a building.
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origins
From Old English sumor, meaning "summer." It goes back through Proto-Germanic and an ancient Proto-Indo-European root meaning "summer" or "year."
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- Summer derives from Old English sumor. en.wiktionary.org
- Old English sumor meant summer. en.wiktionary.org
- The ancestry includes Proto-Germanic. en.wiktionary.org
- The ultimate Proto-Indo-European root meant summer or year. en.wiktionary.org
From Anglo-Norman summer, from Latin sagma, meaning a pack or load. Compare sumpter.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Summer derives from Anglo-Norman summer and ultimately from Latin sagma. en.wiktionary.org
- Latin sagma can mean a pack or load. en.wiktionary.org
- Sumpter shares the Latin ancestor sagma. en.wiktionary.org