autumn

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable or uncountable

   The season after summer and before winter, when days shorten, the air cools and many leaves change color and fall.

   Grammar: Usually used with the or in without an article: in autumn, the autumn of 2019.

   Patterns

   • in autumn
   • the autumn term

   We always visit the lake in autumn when the maples turn red.

   The autumn of last year was unusually warm and dry.

   Schools in Britain begin the autumn term in early September.

2. 2nounsingularliteraryfigurative

   A late stage in the life of a person, career or era, after its peak and before its end.

   Grammar: Used figuratively with of: the autumn of his career.

   Patterns

   • the autumn of something
   • in the autumn of your life

   The singer was in the autumn of his career but still filled every hall.

   In the autumn of her life she took up painting.

   The empire was in its autumn, though few noticed the decline.

Word forms

Common combinations

in autumn

The orchard is busiest in autumn.

early autumn

Early autumn is perfect for walking in the hills.

late autumn

By late autumn the garden was bare.

autumn leaves

Children raked the autumn leaves into huge piles.

autumn colors

Tourists come to see the autumn colors along the river.

Synonyms and how they differ

fall

Fall is the common American word for the season, while autumn is standard in Britain and sounds a bit more formal or poetic in the US.

harvest time

Harvest time is a descriptive phrase tied to farming and does not name the calendar season as precisely.

twilight years

Twilight years shares the figurative sense of a late life stage but refers only to old age.

Opposites

Word family

autumnal adjective

relating to or typical of autumn

autumnally adverb

in an autumn-like way (rare)

Commonly confused: autumn or fall?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “autumn”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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