hibernate
verbUK /ˈhaɪbə(r)ˌneɪt/ · US /ˈhaɪbəɹˌneɪt/
Etymology Borrowed from Latin hībernātus, perfect passive participle of hībernō (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from hībernus (“wintry”).
1
Biology, Natural sciences To 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.
- Hedgehogs and bears are two of the many mammals that hibernate in winter.
- 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:
2
To live in seclusion.
3
Computing, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences To enter a standby state which conserves power without losing the contents of memory.
- Your computer hibernates after it has been idle for the specified amount of time.2001, Microsoft Corp, Use Hibernate and Standby to Conserve Batteries:
- Derived terms
- nonhibernating
- Related terms
- hibernacle, hibernaculum, hibernal, hibernation, hibernator, oversummer, overwinter