dead of winter
January's frozen heart
The dead of winter refers to the coldest, darkest, most severe part of the winter season, typically the weeks surrounding the winter solstice in late December and January.
Dead here suggests a time when nature appears lifeless—trees bare, ground frozen, daylight scarce.
The phrase emphasizes harshness and stillness rather than a precise calendar period.
We lost power for three days in the dead of winter.
Nobody wants to move house in the dead of winter.
- midwinterSeason's coldest period
- snowFrozen crystalline precipitation
- polar vortexPersistent circulating cold air mass
- deep freezeIntense prolonged cold
- bitter coldExtremely low temperature
freeze · cold · dormancy · long nights · short days · frost · deathly · quietude · chill · hibernation · subzero temperatures · frozen ground · barrenness · introspection · isolation · icicle · stillness · bleakness
- wintersnow, ice, cold, frozen, frost
- Cold Expressionsfreezing cold, bitter cold, bone-chilling, cold snap, cold spell
- life stagesbaby, teenager, adult, childhood, adolescence
- monthsJanuary, February, March, April, May
dead of wintermidsummer
Peak of warm months
high summer · summer solstice · spring thaw · June · July
dead of wintergrowing season
Time crops can mature
springtime · full bloom · harvest season · thaw · flowering season
dead, winter, death, deadly, deaden, deadness, deadened, deadening, wintry