autumn
noun · verb
Simple meaning
The season when the leaves fall from the trees.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
awtuhmSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɔtəm
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
The season when the leaves fall from the trees
Traditionally the third of the four seasons, when deciduous trees lose their leaves, and temperatures and daylight hours decrease; typically regarded as spanning the months of September, October, and November in the Northern Hemisphere, and the months of March, April and May in the Southern Hemisphere.
by extension
The time period when someone or something is past its prime.
verb
ambitransitive
To (cause to) undergo the changes associated with autumn, such as leaves changing color and falling from trees.
intransitive
To spend the autumn (in a particular place).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: The season when the leaves fall from the trees
Used this way, autumn is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use autumn
- “I love to watch the leaves change color in the autumn.”
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Bulbous autumn-flowering herb with white, purple or lavender-and-white flowers.
A coarse vine widely cultivated for its large pulpy round orange fruit with firm orange skin and numerous seeds.
North American perennial with bright yellow late summer flowers.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Bulbous autumn-flowering herb with white, purple or lavender-and-white flowers.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: season when the leaves fall from the trees
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “autumn” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.