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hibernate

[hahy-ber-nayt] / ˈhaɪ bərˌneɪt /
VERB
lie dormant; sleep through cold weather
Synonyms


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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In “Rare Bird” a woman in 18th-century England finds pleasure in the company of a new friend, who helps her test a claim from the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus that swallows hibernate underwater.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026

Rats do not hibernate, so when exposed to the cold, it can kill them outright or result in them producing fewer pups, as baby rats are known – which in turn slows population growth.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2025

Though fence lizards don’t hibernate, they become sluggish in winter, which is why these days, warmed by the sun and driven by the urge to mate, they’re once more appearing all over.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 25, 2025

The mechanisms animals use to hibernate or slow their metabolism during unfavorable seasonal conditions are similar to those used by resurrecting creatures, who are just rather more extreme about it.

From Salon ● Apr. 20, 2025

Swallows were still thought to hibernate at the bottom of ponds.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Its full life cycle remains a mystery, but it probably includes a cyst stage that hibernates on the lake bottom until it’s triggered to divide and release new cells.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 21, 2023

One of the largest toads native to North America and remarkably long-lived with a life span reaching 20 years, it hibernates underground for most of the year, resurfacing to breed around the summer monsoon rains.

From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2022

As the temperature cools, the Harlequin hibernates for the winter in buildings - including homes.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2018

A white dwarf star gathers hydrogen from its neighbor for 100,000 years, erupts, hibernates, goes through a dwarf-nova stage — and does it all over again, possibly for a billion years.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 30, 2017

Come summer he gets dozy and hibernates through to autumn, and I can speak a bit better.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

The glove maker’s plant utilization rates are above 96%, excluding hibernated plants, he notes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

"Blue-tongued skinks hibernated under the garage and at night blue-banded and teddy-bear bees slept in the hedges under the front window," Dr Holden said.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 8, 2023

Aristotle thought that some birds such as swallows hibernated in the colder months and that others transformed into different species—redstarts turned into robins for the winter, he proposed.

From Scientific American ● Mar. 15, 2022

“I knew there were people who hibernated between the finals and the start of the NFL regular season. I knew that there was a void in the industry and we can fill it.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2018

“I haven’t hibernated in three years. I’m ragged from it. Him too.”

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

Backpack, the winning bear, after months of eating to gain weight ahead of hibernating in winter.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026

My default seems to be crawling into myself and hibernating with warm, soft-baked Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies with a glass of oat milk.

From Salon ● Feb. 1, 2025

The fungus invades the skin tissue of hibernating bats and causes them to wake too often or too early during winter, depleting their precious fat stores when there’s scant food.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2024

For instance, the increase in temperatures prevented bats from hibernating in the provinces of Tarragona.

From Science Daily ● Mar. 6, 2024

“It’s like you’ve been hibernating the whole month of February, though!” said Maya.

From "Auggie & Me" by R. J. Palacio


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