Hibernate Meaning
/ˈhaɪbə(r)ˌneɪt/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo spend the winter in a dormant or inactive state of minimal activity, low body temperature, slow breathing and heart rate, and low metabolic rate; to go through a winter sleep.
verbTo live in seclusion.
Sentence Examples
Why don't people hibernate?
Bears hibernate during the winter.
Many European birds hibernate in the north of Africa.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Some animals like bears ____ all winter long to avoid the cold.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Many species of bears will ____ in deep dens during the cold winter months when food is scarce.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed from Latin hībernātus, perfect passive participle of hībernō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from hībernus (“wintry”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Organisms have developed all sorts of ways of dealing with these variations. They hibernate or estivate or migrate."
— 2014, Elizabeth Kolbert, chapter 8, in The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Henry Holt and Company:
"Your computer hibernates after it has been idle for the specified amount of time."
— 2001, Microsoft Corp, Use Hibernate and Standby to Conserve Batteries:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Some animals like bears ____ all winter long to avoid the cold.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Many species of bears will ____ in deep dens during the cold winter months when food is scarce.