Meaning & use
solstice
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
One of the two days in the year when the sun is at its highest or lowest point in the sky, giving the longest or shortest day.
Grammar: Preceded by 'summer' or 'winter' in most uses: the summer solstice.
Patterns
- the summer solstice
- the winter solstice
The summer solstice falls around June 21 in the northern hemisphere.
People gather at the stones to watch the sun rise on the solstice.
Daylight begins to increase again after the winter solstice.
nouncountabletechnical
The point in the sun's yearly path at which it is farthest north or south of the equator.
Grammar: A more technical, astronomy sense.
Patterns
- the solstice point
Astronomers mark the solstice as the sun's northern limit.
At the solstice, the sun appears directly over a tropic.
The calendar was built around the solstices and the equinoxes.
Word forms
| plural | solstices |
|---|
Common combinations
- summer solstice
- We held a picnic on the summer solstice.
- winter solstice
- The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year.
- celebrate the solstice
- Many cultures celebrate the solstice with festivals.
- around the solstice
- Days feel very long around the solstice.
- solstice festival
- The solstice festival drew crowds to the hilltop.
Synonyms and how they differ
- midsummer
- Midsummer is the period around the summer solstice and has a cultural or festive tone.
- midwinter
- Midwinter refers to the middle of the cold season and need not mean exactly the solstice.
- longest day
- Longest day is a casual way to name the summer solstice only.
- shortest day
- Shortest day is a casual way to name the winter solstice only.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: solstice or equinox? solstice or solace?
solstice vs equinox
An equinox is when day and night are about equal in length, while a solstice is the longest or shortest day.
solstice vs solace
Solace means comfort in sadness and has nothing to do with the sun.
Practice
Which describes the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere?
Choose one answer.
At the winter solstice the sun is lowest and the day is shortest. Equal day and night describes an equinox.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “solstice”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.