summer

summer — noun

1. Once each year, the weeks of highest temperatures and longest days, when schools

1.nounA1
Definition

Once each year, the weeks of highest temperatures and longest days, when schools close and many people go on holiday, wear lighter clothes, and spend more time outside.

Example

The children spent every afternoon at the beach during the summer.

collocation: during the summer

On the warm wooden dock, Ezra watched the sun set after nine every summer evening.

pattern: every + noun phrase

Common collocations
  • hot summer
  • long summer
  • early summer
  • late summer
  • summer vacation
  • summer break
  • summer holidays
  • summer weather
  • summer heat
Synonyms
  • summertime

    less common than summer, slightly more poetic or old-fashioned

  • high summer

    refers specifically to the hottest part of the season, usually July and August

Antonyms
  • winter

    the coldest season of the year

Grammar Patterns

summer as a subject or object

in / during the summer

Usage Note

Often used with 'in' or 'during' when referring to the time of year: 'in the summer' or 'during the summer'. American speakers frequently drop the article: 'in summer'.

Common Mistakes

I like to swim on summer.
I like to swim in summer.
Use 'in' (not 'on') with seasons.
The summer is coming.' (to mean the season is approaching)
Summer is coming.
No definite article needed when speaking generally about the season.
Idioms

one swallow doesn’t make a summer

idiom

A single sign or event is not enough to prove that something is definitely going to happen.

Mia got one good grade, but one swallow doesn’t make a summer.

Don't assume the project will succeed after one positive review; one swallow doesn’t make a summer.

summer — adjective

summer — verb

Word family

  • summery
    adjectiveB1
  • summertime
    nounB1
  • midsummer
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

"Summer" is the everyday word for the warmest season and works in nearly all contexts: general statements ("summer is hot"), specific references ("last summer"), and fixed phrases ("summer break"). "Summertime" overlaps in meaning but sounds slightly more literary or nostalgic — people sing about "Summertime" but rarely use it in casual conversation. "Summer season" is more formal and often appears in tourism or business contexts ("the summer season runs from June to August"). "High summer" is narrower, pointing to the hottest weeks in the middle of the season. Use "summer" for most situations; reserve the others when you need a specific tone or precision.

summer ↗summertimesummer seasonhigh summer

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • in the summer
  • during the summer
  • all summer long
  • for the summer
  • throughout the summer
  • at the height of summer

Prepositions

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanProto-GermanicOld EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

From Old English 'sumor', inherited from Proto-Germanic '*sumaraz'. The word goes back to the Proto-Indo-European root '*sem-' meaning 'together' or 'one' — the same root that gave us 'same' and 'some'. The connection may be that summer was seen as the unified, coherent season of warmth, in contrast to the broken-up seasons of spring and autumn. Related words exist across all Germanic languages: German 'Sommer', Dutch 'zomer', Swedish 'sommar'.