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summer

/ˈsʌmɚ/
nounverb

SUMMER meaning: the familiar warm-season word scores 10 Scrabble points, has no anagrams, and differs by one letter from nine neighbours.

NWL Collins ENABLE

Noun 4 meanings

  1. One of four seasons, traditionally the second, marked by the longest and typically hottest days of the year due to the inclination of the Earth and thermal lag. Typically regarded as spanning either the period between the summer solstice to the autumnal equinox, or the months of June, July, and August in the Northern Hemisphere and the months of December, January and February in the Southern Hemisphere.

    “the heat of summer”

  2. year; used to give the age of a person, usually a young one.

    “He was barely eighteen summers old.”

  3. Most flourishing, happy, or beautiful period; golden age, prime.

  4. Someone with light, pinkish skin that has a blue undertone, light hair and eyes, seen as best suited to certain colors of clothing.

Verb 1 meaning

  1. To spend the summer, as in a particular place on holiday.

Definitions: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA) via Kaikki/Wiktextract

Where it comes from

Etymology

From Middle English somer, sumer, from Old English sumor m, from Proto-West Germanic *sumar m, from Proto-Germanic *sumaraz m, derived from Proto-Indo-European *semh₂- (“summer”).

Similar and opposite words

Similar
summerbeamsummertreetotaller
Opposite
winter

SUMMER is a common six-letter English word, best known as the season associated with long, warm days. It also describes a person's age or a flourishing period, so context decides which meaning fits. Its repeated M is the scoring hinge: those two tiles contribute six of the word's 10 Scrabble points.

SUMMER at a glance

  • SUMMER has six letters and scores 10 Scrabble points.
  • No anagrams can be made from the same six tiles.
  • Nine one-letter neighbours include SUMMED, SIMMER and BUMMER.
  • Twelve rhymes include FORMER, HAMMER and WARMER.
  • SUMMER is marked common, with a frequency count of 45,611.

What is the SUMMER meaning?

The main SUMMER meaning is the season: one of four divisions of the year, traditionally the second, with the longest and typically hottest days. The definition allows either solstice-to-equinox timing or the familiar month-based grouping, which falls in different parts of the year in the two hemispheres.

SUMMER can also express a person's age, especially a young person's, as in someone being a certain number of summers old. Another sense describes a flourishing or beautiful period, like a golden age or someone's prime. A more specialized clothing-color sense refers to light, pinkish skin with blue undertones, light hair and eyes.

On a Scrabble rack, S, U, E and R each add one point, while both M tiles add three apiece. The repeated M therefore supplies six of the total 10 points; the other four letters together supply the remaining four. The score alone does not establish acceptance in every game, so check your game's word list.

How do SUMMER's neighbours and rhymes work?

The seasonal SUMMER meaning is separate from its word pattern: change one letter and you get neighbours such as SUMMED, SIMMER, BUMMER, HUMMER, MUMMER and RUMMER. Each keeps five letters in place. That makes these useful comparisons when a puzzle clue gives you most of the spelling but leaves one position uncertain.

The spelling runs S-U-M-M-E-R, with the double M in the middle and R at the end. If a clue fixes the first S or final R, six-letter word lists can narrow the search without confusing a one-letter change with rearranging the tiles. SUMMER has no anagrams, despite its repeated M.

Its 12 rhymes include FORMER, CUSTOMER, CONSUMER, FARMER, WARMER and DRUMMER. For sound-based puzzles, listen for the shared ending rather than looking only for a matching number of letters.

Rhymes with summer

All rhymes

One letter away

Change one letter, keep the rest
  • SUMMED11
  • SIMMER10
  • BUMMER12
  • HUMMER13
  • GUMMER11
  • CUMMER12
  • MUMMER12
  • SUMMAR10
  • RUMMER10

Questions people ask

What does SUMMER mean?
SUMMER most often means the warm season, traditionally associated with the year's longest and typically hottest days. It can also refer to a person's age, a flourishing period or a specific clothing-color type. The surrounding sentence tells you which sense is intended.
How many points is SUMMER worth in Scrabble?
SUMMER is worth 10 points before any board premiums. Its two M tiles contribute six points because each is worth three, while S, U, E and R contribute one point apiece. Check your game's word list separately; a score does not confirm acceptance in every dictionary.
Does SUMMER have any anagrams?
No, SUMMER has zero anagrams in the word reference used for this entry. Its repeated M may make rearrangements look promising, but the available results do not produce another word from exactly those letters. One-letter neighbours such as SIMMER are different: they replace a tile rather than rearrange the same set.

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