hi·ber·nate

(hī′bər-nāt′)

intr.v. hi·ber·nat·ed, hi·ber·nat·ing, hi·ber·nates

1. To be in a dormant or torpid state during a cold period, especially during the winter.

2. To be in an inactive or dormant state or period: "In Lawrenceville people hibernated and life passed them by" (Jacqueline Susann).

[Latin hībernāre, hībernāt-, to winter, from hībernus, relating to winter; see ghei- in Indo-European roots.]

hi′ber·na′tion n.

hi′ber·na′tor n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hi·ber·na·tion

(hī′bər-nā′shən)

An inactive state resembling deep sleep in which certain animals living in cold climates pass the winter. In hibernation, the body temperature is lowered and breathing and heart rates slow down. Hibernation protects the animal from cold and reduces the need for food during the season when food is scarce. Compare estivation.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hibernation

the practice of certain animals of sleeping throughout the winter. Cf. estivation.

hibernation

A dormant state, with a reduced metabolic rate, adopted by certain mammals and reptiles to survive winter.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	hibernation - the torpid or resting state in which some animals pass the winter torpidity, torpor - a state of motor and mental inactivity with a partial suspension of sensibility; "he fell into a deep torpor"
	2.	hibernation - cessation from or slowing of activity during the winter; especially slowing of metabolism in some animals dormancy, quiescence, quiescency - a state of quiet (but possibly temporary) inaction; "the volcano erupted after centuries of dormancy"
	3.	hibernation - the act of retiring into inactivity; "he emerged from his hibernation to make his first appearance in several years" retirement - withdrawal from your position or occupation

Translations

سُبات، إسْبات

zimní spánek

liggen i dvale

Überwinterung

αδρανοποίηση χειμερία νάρκη

hibernation

téli álom

vetrardvali

letargo ibernazione

vinterdvale

спячка

zimný spánok

kış uykusuna yatma

冬眠

hibernation

[ˌhaɪbəˈneɪʃən] N → hibernación f, invernación f

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

hibernation

[ˌhaɪbə^rˈneɪʃən] n → hibernation f

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

hibernation

n (lit, fig) → Winterschlaf m

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

hibernation

[ˌhaɪbəˈneɪʃ/ən] n → letargo, ibernazione f

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

hibernate

(ˈhaibəneit) verb

(of certain animals, eg hedgehogs) to pass the winter in a condition like sleep.

ˌhiberˈnation noun

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

There have been many singular popular notions about the hibernation of various animals.

View in context

But the waking hours grew less, becoming semi-waking or half-dreaming hours as the process of hibernation worked their way with him.

View in context

Researchers at the National Eye Institute have discovered cellular mechanisms that help the thirteen-lined ground squirrel survive hibernation. Their findings could be a step to extending storage of human donor tissues awaiting transplantation and protecting traumatic brain injury patients who undergo induced hypothermia.

Hibernation Provides Organ Transplant Clues

APROPOS the editorial 'Opposition in hibernation?' (May 10).

The opposition

THIS photograph shows a venomous adder emerging from hibernation.

ADDER ALERT FOR DOG WALKERS

It's up to the public to crown the fattest bear before their hibernation Can a brown bear spend too much time munching on salmon?

Alaska's brown bears face off in battle of the plumpest

IEmily Wilson, hedgehog officer at Hedgehog Street, a joint campaign by the People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) and the British Hedgehog Preservation Society (BHPS) explains: "Hedgehogs usually hibernate from October/November to March/April, though this year the weather has been particularly unusual - snow in March and a heatwave in July - so this may well have an effect on when hedgehogs go into hibernation."

Time to spare a thought for our prickly friends; Gardening How can gardeners help hedgehogs hibernate? Expert Emily Wilson looks at the dos and don'ts of giving our prickly friends a helping hand

1977) and go into hibernation around late October in the U.K.

Movements by edible dormice (Glis glis) to their hibernation site and implications for population control

Summary: TEHRAN (FNA)- Researchers have discovered a surprising tactic of pathogenic bacteria when being attacked by antibiotics: hibernation.

Infectious Bacteria Hibernate, Evade Antibiotics

IMAGINE a version of reality where humans have always hibernated, and Wales is dotted with dormitoria - hibernation towers where citizens bed down for the long, glacial winters, fuelled by pre-hibernation feasting and the thick furry pelts they grow in winter.

A new reality; Always a king of invention, Jasper Fforde conjures up an alternative Wales in his latest book - and the result is a sublime piece of speculative fiction, discovers Jenny White AUTHOR'S NOTES

With the help of a cocktail of pharmaceutical drugs, prescribed by the world's worst psychiatrist, the young heroine sinks into a type of hibernation, surfacing only to take us on a journey of her sad childhood and even more despairing adulthood.

MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION