# overwinter
## English
### Etymology

From over- +‎ winter. Compare Dutch overwinteren, German überwintern.

### Pronunciation

* (UK) IPA: /ˌəʊ.vəˈwɪn.tə/
* (US) IPA: /ˌoʊ.vɚˈwɪn.tɚ/
** Audio (US):(file)

### Verb

overwinter (third-person singular simple present overwinters, present participle overwintering, simple past and past participle overwintered)
* (transitive) To keep or preserve for the winter.
    It is best to overwinter tender plants indoors.
** 2014, Philip Hasheider, Samantha Johnson, The Complete Illustrated Guide to Farming, page 114:Well, if you're fortunate, you'll be able to overwinter your bees and keep them alive during the winter months.
** 2014 April 8, Helen Yemm, “Thorny problems: How can I revive a forsythia hedge? [print version 5 April 2014, p. G9]”, in The Daily Telegraph (Gardening)‎, London:We overwinter our blueberry bushes in an unheated greenhouse, but when re-tubbed this year they will be too big to move. What are their chances of surviving winter outside?
* (intransitive) To spend the winter (in a particular place).
    Insects may overwinter in fallen fruit if it is not removed.
** 1975, Alaska Natural Gas Transportation System:Fish only overwinter in streams having a sufficient source of groundwater.
** 2011, Bob Gibbons, Field Guide to Insects of Britain and Northern Europe:Different insects also differ in the way in which they overwinter. Most insects overwinter as eggs or pupae, but others overwinter as larvae or nymphs, whilst quite a few hibernate in the adult phase.
** 2012, Marie Iannotti, The Beginner's Guide to Growing Heirloom Vegetables:'Early Purple Sprouting' broccoli is so hardy you can let it overwinter and it rewards you with—yes, you guessed it—early purple sprouts that are tender and delicious.

#### Coordinate terms

* oversummer

#### See also

* snowbird

### Adjective

overwinter (not comparable)
* Occurring over the winter season.
** 1996, Marek Jacek Krasowski, Measures to Reduce Overwinter Injury to Planted Spruce in Boreal Forest of British Columbia, page 4:The effect of seedling size on overwinter injury was analyzed separately by analysis of covariance.
** 2012, Issues in Global Environment:Overwinter survival ranged from 0% to 100% and increased with increasing fall total length and winter temperatures among all cohorts and reservoirs.
** 2013, David R. Williams, Robert G. Pople, David A. Showler, Bird Conservation:A replicated site comparison study on 1, 031 agricultural sites across England in 2004–2008 (29) found that in three out of four year-on-year comparisons, grey partridge Perdix perdix density changes and overwinter survival were higher on sites under agri-environment schemes, than on sites not under schemes (density changes were more positive on agri-environment scheme sites than non-agi-environment scheme sites in all comparisons except 2007-2008; overwinter survival was higher for all except 2006-2007).

### Adverb

overwinter (not comparable)
* During the winter.
** 1968, Earl F. Aldon, Detrimental Effect of Russian thistle on Semidesert Range in West Central New Mexico:Ground cover of perennial grasses declined seriously under plots covered overwinter with dead thistle plants.
** 1985, Technologies to Benefit Agriculture and Wildlife, page 63:Moreover, each year of continuous corn cropping the corn stover would be turned under by fall plowing in preparation for the next spring planting, leaving the land bare overwinter.
** 2014, Lee Hannah, Climate Change Biology, page 95:The copepod Thermocyclops oithonoides rests overwinter as copepodids in lake mud in the Mugglesee and other lakes in Europe.

### Anagrams

* winterover