latibulize

L1A1T1I1B3U1L1I1Z10E1

verb

To retire into a den, or hole, and lie dormant in winter.

Scrabble 21

Meanings

verblatibulize (third-person singular simple present latibulizes, present participle latibulizing, simple past and past participle latibulized)

present singular third person latibulizes · participle present latibulizing · participle past latibulized · past latibulized

  1. rareTo retire into a den, or hole, and lie dormant in winter.

    Grippe got a grip on Col. John Stapp which kept him latibulizing till the ground-hog heralded close of winter, and bluebirds and robins have begun rehearsing their spring symphonies.

    1915 February 19, “Kidd's Store”, in The Interior Journal, Stanford, Kentucky, page 1, column 2
    2 more examples

    1802, George Shaw, General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History, vol. 3, part 1, publ. by G. Kearsley, page 11, footnote. When kept in gardens in Italy and Germany, it is observed to latibulize in October, and to reappear in April.

    Special attention in the analysis of the coast line is paid to estuaries, which are comfortable areas that bears use as a starting point to move to the interior of the island to latibulize and a place where female bears come with cubs (Ovsyanikov, 1995).

    2013, N. G. Platonov, I. N. Mordvintsev, V. V. Rozhnov, “The possibility of using high resolution satellite images for detection of marine mammals”, in Biology Bulletin, volume 40, number 2, →DOI, pages 197–205
  2. archaicfigurativelyrareTo retreat and lie hidden.

    O, why, like the reptile, did his sorrow not latibulize?

    1908, Anson D. Eby, Showers of blessing, Lancaster, Pennsylvania, page 102
    2 more examples

    Now, sir, two courses are open to you: Without impropriety you might latibulize.

    1894 October 27, Jas. W. Coulter, “An Open Letter”, in The Bessemer Indicator., Bessemer, Colorado, page 1, column 7

    […] and we can, with all dignity and politeness, inform them that their services are not required, and that they may, as far as we are concerned, latibulize in the "sound money" party.

    1896 October 28, “An Open Letter”, in The Lambertville Record., Lambertville, New Jersey, page 3, column 6, quoting a "Richard Stockton"

Origin

  1. Latinlatibulum“hiding place”
  2. Englishlatibulize

From Latin latibulum (“hiding place”), from latere (“to lie hid”) + -ize.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

latibulize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/latibulize

MLA

“latibulize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/latibulize. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “latibulize,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/latibulize.

Source: latibulize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.