der Sommer, Summer

Definition & meaning

der Summer is a buzzer or beeper: a device that produces a buzzing sound as an acoustic signal. It can also refer to the buzzing sound itself, depending on context.

Examples:

• Der Summer an der Haustür funktioniert nicht. — The door buzzer does not work.
• Ein Summer ertönt, wenn die Zeit abgelaufen ist. — A buzzer sounds when the time is up.

It is not the German word for the season “summer”; that word is der Sommer [?](vocabuo://word/Sommer).

Grammar & Word origin

• Gender: masculine
• Article: der [?](vocabuo://word/der)
• Plural: die Summer [?](vocabuo://word/Summer)
• Pronunciation: approximately ZOOM-er

The word is derived from the verb summen [?](vocabuo://word/summen), meaning “to buzz” or “to hum,” with the suffix -er [?](vocabuo://word/-er), which can form nouns referring to devices or things that perform an action.

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms

• der Signalgeber [?](vocabuo://word/Signalgeber) — a signal device; more technical and general than Summer
• der Brummer [?](vocabuo://word/Brummer) — a colloquial word for something that buzzes or hums; less neutral and less common in technical contexts
• der Türsummer [?](vocabuo://word/Türsummer) — specifically a door buzzer

Antonyms

There is no exact antonym. Depending on the context, possible opposites include:

• die Stille [?](vocabuo://word/Stille) — silence, especially as the absence of a buzzing signal
• die Ruhe [?](vocabuo://word/Ruhe) — quiet or calm; broader in meaning than Summer

Common phrases & collocations

• der elektrische Summer [?](vocabuo://word/elektrische) [?](vocabuo://word/Summer) — the electric buzzer
• der Türsummer [?](vocabuo://word/Türsummer) — the door buzzer
• den Summer betätigen [?](vocabuo://word/den) [?](vocabuo://word/Summer) [?](vocabuo://word/betätigen) — to press or activate the buzzer
• ein Summer ertönt [?](vocabuo://word/ein) [?](vocabuo://word/Summer) [?](vocabuo://word/ertönt) — a buzzer sounds
• der Summer an der Haustür [?](vocabuo://word/Summer) [?](vocabuo://word/an) [?](vocabuo://word/der) [?](vocabuo://word/Haustür) — the buzzer at the front door