From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsummersum‧mer1 /ˈsʌmə $ -ər/ ●●● S1 W1 noun [countable, uncountable] 1 DNTMCthe 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 vacationearly/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 → Indian summerCOLLOCATIONSadjectiveshotIt had been a long hot summer.dry/wetWe’ve had a very dry summer.high summer (=the middle of summer)In high summer, food was plentiful.early/late summerIn the late summer of 1931, Joe returned to Oxford.last/next summerHe visited Brittany last summer.summer + NOUNa summer holiday British English, a summer vacation American EnglishWhere 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 monthsThe garden is open daily in the summer months.the summer seasonThe resort was crammed with holidaymakers for the whole of the summer season.the summer heatCrowds of shoppers are sweltering in the summer heat.the summer sunThey lay on the beach, soaking up the summer sun.phrasesin/at the height of summer (=in the middle of summer)Even in the height of summer, it’s cool in here. GRAMMAR: Patterns with summerin summer/in the summer• You use in summer or in the summer when saying that something happens at that time: In summer we get six weeks’ vacation. He worked as a lifeguard in the summer.last summer/this summer etcDon’t use in with these words:• You say last summer: We went to Italy last summer. ✗Don’t say: We went to Italy in last summer.• You say this summer: Do you plan to travel this summer? ✗Don’t say: Do you plan to travel in this summer?• You say next summer: We will graduate next summer. ✗Don’t say: We will graduate in next summer.• You say that summer: That summer she met Jeff. ✗Don’t say: In that summer she met Jeff.
Examples from the Corpus
summer• He looked much younger than his 70 summers.• Announced last summer, the transaction became effective Jan. 1.• The employers pledged to provide summer and after-school jobs for young people and to give priority hiring to public school graduates.• Cornell University also offers a large variety of short courses on specific themes, held during the summer session.• Perhaps the color of the sky is no different in the summer.• In the summer and autumn of 1989, Labour led strongly in the opinion polls again.• Olympic champions Linford Christie and Sally Gunnell will have their work cut out in their first individual races of the summer.• the summer of 1972• Meanwhile, the film version of Skipped Parts begins production this summer.in (the) summer• The fields flood in winter and in summer dry and starve because every plant grows to the same depth.• Construction began in the summer of 1994.• I was not responsible for the chance encounter that allowed the virus to slip into my bloodstream in the summer of 1944.• Studying drama as a winner of a Commonwealth Fellowship, Cooke traveled throughout the country in the summer of 1933.• They always camped at Dartmeet in summer.• There are eight holidays a year and three weeks off in the summer.• Its woodland walks are delightfully peaceful and plead for exploration not only in summer but throughout the year.summersummer2 verb [intransitive] LIVE SOMEWHEREto spend the summer in a particular place → winter→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
summer• A few have summered annually since 1966, but breeding is still very rare.Origin summer1 Old English sumor 