winterkill

The mortality resulting from lethal wintry conditions among a human, animal, and/or vegetal population.

Noun

  1. The mortality resulting from lethal wintry conditions among a human, animal, and/or vegetal population.

Origin

From winter + kill.

Forms

winterkills winter-kill winter kill

Related

killer overkill winterization winter-killed winterly winter quarters

Verb

  1. To kill by the conditions of winter, especially the effect of the cold, freezing.
    • From these data it is evident that the frequent low temperatures may have winterkilled many bare fields of common alfalfa before the ice sheets occurred the latter part of February 1922 - 1919, University of Wisconsin....
    • The severe cold in conditions of only light snow protection is also reported to have winterkilled considerable areas of winter grains in Poland, Romania, Hungary and Yugoslavia - 1972, Commonwealth Secretariat....
    • It surely had winterkilled all the soft-grained wheat that had been planted. - 2001, Sam Wellman, George Washington Carver: Inventor and Naturalist:
  2. To die from the above effects of winter conditions.
    • Order new rose bushes to replace any that have winterkilled. - 1951 April 1, “Around the Garden; Future for Pot Plants”, in New York Times:
    • Some lakes may have winterkilled but anglers will find fish if they take some time to look for them - 2004 May 20, “Utah's Top 10 fishing spots”, in Salt Lake Tribune, The:

Forms

winterkills winterkilling winterkilled winter-kill winter kill