I. sum ‧ mer 1 S1 W1 /ˈsʌmə $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ summer , ↑ midsummer ; verb : ↑ summer ; adjective : ↑ summery ]
[ Language: Old English ; Origin: sumor ]
1 . the time of the year when the sun is hottest and the days are longest, between spring and autumn ⇨ summery :
the long hot summer of 1976
The children play on the beach during the summer.
in (the) summer
Miriam likes to relax in her garden in summer.
this/next/last summer
We’re going to Italy next summer.
a hot summer’s day
a sunny summer afternoon
a three-week summer vacation
early/late summer
The tourist season lasts through late summer.
Parts of Spain are extremely hot in high summer (=the hottest part of summer) .
2 . 20/50 etc summers literary 20, 50 etc years of age:
a child of 11 summers
⇨ ↑ Indian summer
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adjectives
▪ hot
It had been a long hot summer.
▪ dry/wet
We've had a very dry summer.
▪ high summer (=the middle of summer)
In high summer, food was plentiful.
▪ early/late summer
In the late summer of 1931, Joe returned to Oxford.
▪ last/next summer
He visited Brittany last summer.
■ summer + NOUN
▪ a summer holiday British English , a summer vacation American English
Where are you going for your summer holiday?
▪ a summer's day/evening ( also a summer day/evening )
It was a beautiful summer's day.
▪ the summer months
The garden is open daily in the summer months.
▪ the summer season
The resort was crammed with holidaymakers for the whole of the summer season.
▪ the summer heat
Crowds of shoppers are sweltering in the summer heat.
▪ the summer sun
They lay on the beach, soaking up the summer sun.
■ phrases
▪ in/at the height of summer (=in the middle of summer)
Even in the height of summer, it's cool in here.
II. summer 2 BrE AmE verb [intransitive]
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ summer , ↑ midsummer ; verb : ↑ summer ; adjective : ↑ summery ]
to spend the summer in a particular place ⇨ winter