Meaning & use
winterizing
Last updated
“winterizing” is a form of “winterize”.
Meaning
verbuncountable
The act of preparing a building, vehicle, or equipment for cold winter weather.
Grammar: Used as a noun (gerund): 'Winterizing the house takes a weekend.' It can also be the -ing form of the verb winterize: 'They are winterizing the cabin.'
Patterns
- winterizing a house/car
- winterizing for winter
- need winterizing
Winterizing the boat includes draining the water lines and adding antifreeze.
The farm spends two weeks winterizing its barns before the first snow.
Proper winterizing can prevent pipes from bursting in freezing temperatures.
Word forms
| third person singular | winterizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | winterized |
| past participle | winterized |
| -ing form | winterizing |
Common combinations
- winterizing the house
- They spent the weekend winterizing the house before the cold snap.
- winterizing a car
- Winterizing a car means checking the antifreeze and tires.
- winterizing kit
- The hardware store sells a winterizing kit for outdoor pipes.
- winterizing service
- Many pool owners pay for a winterizing service in October.
Synonyms and how they differ
- winter-proofing
- Similar but often focuses on making something resistant to cold rather than the whole preparation process.
- weatherizing
- Means protecting a building from weather in general (rain, wind, sun), not just winter.
Word family
- winterize verb
- To prepare something for winter.
- winterization noun
- The process of preparing for winter.
Commonly confused: winterizing or wintering?
winterizing vs wintering
Means spending the winter somewhere, e.g. 'birds wintering in the south'. Winterizing is preparing equipment or buildings for winter.
Practice
Before the first frost, the landlord is responsible for _____ the outdoor pipes.
Choose one answer.
After the preposition 'for' and the verb 'is responsible for', we need the -ing form (gerund) 'winterizing'. 'Wintering' means spending the winter, not preparing pipes. 'Winterized' is past tense and would not follow 'for'. 'Winterize' is the base form and cannot follow 'for' directly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “winterizing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.