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PlainSpell

winter

win·terUK /ˈwɪntə/noun, verb

winter is spelled W-I-N-T-E-R: 6 letters and 2 syllables (win·ter). It appears 78 times per million words in written English, the 1,369th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, winter means “Traditionally the fourth of the four seasons, typically regarded as spanning either the period between the winter solstice to the spring equinox, or…” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of winter is winters.

How many letters and syllables are in winter?

Letters6: W-I-N-T-E-R
Syllables2: win·ter
In writing78 times per million words; the 1,369th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.

How common is winter?

Winter appears 78 times per million words in written English, the 1,369th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce winter?

  • UK /ˈwɪntə/
  • UK [ˈwɪntʰə]
  • /ˈwɪntɚ/

Winter has 2 syllables, split win·ter in writing.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-winter.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Acadienenexil-winner.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with winter?

One word on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as winter from its last stressed vowel (/ɪntə/, British pronunciation):

Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).

Forms of winter

  • winters plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • wintering participle, present
  • wintered participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does winter mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    Traditionally the fourth of the four seasons, typically regarded as spanning either the period between the winter solstice to the spring equinox, or the months of December, January, and February in temperate and polar regions of the Northern Hemisphere and the months of June, July, and August in the Southern Hemisphere. It is the time when the sun is lowest in the sky, resulting in short days, and

    There shall he learn, ere sixteen winters old, That …

  2. 2

    The period of decay, old age, death, or the like.

  3. 3

    Someone with dark skin, eyes and hair, seen as best suited to certain colors of clothing.

  4. 4

    obsoleteAn appliance to be fixed on the front of a grate, to keep a kettle warm, etc.

  5. 5

    IndiaarchaicThe rainy season.

    Note that the Citie of Goa is the principall place of all the Oriental India, and the winter thus beginneth the 15 of May, with very great raine.

verb

  1. 1

    To spend the winter (in a particular place).

  2. 2

    To store something (for instance animals) somewhere over winter to protect it from cold.

noun

as Winter
  1. 1

    Alternative letter-case form of winter.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Winter in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchhiver (fourth season, marked by short days and the…), hiverner (spend the winter, as in a particular place on…)
GermanWinter, Winterzeit (fourth season, marked by short days and the…), wintern (spend the winter, as in a particular place on…)
Portugueseinverno (fourth season, marked by short days and the…), invernar (spend the winter, as in a particular place on…)
Spanishinvierno (fourth season, marked by short days and the…), invernar (spend the winter, as in a particular place on…)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does winter come from?

From Middle English winter, from Old English winter, from Proto-West Germanic *wintru, from Proto-Germanic *wintruz (“winter”). Cognate with West Frisian winter (“winter”), Dutch winter (“winter”), German Winter (“winter”), Danish, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, and Swedish vinter (“winter”), Faroese and Icelandic vetur (“winter”).

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after winter