Lexicon ·
cuffing season
noun
- Stated meaning
- The colder months, from Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day, when single people are more inclined to pair up.
- Operating meaning
- A fixed-term lease signed in the autumn, timed to the holidays and due for review in February.
- Origin
- Recorded from 2010–15, and added to Merriam-Webster in September 2026.
- Antonyms
- uncuffing
Dictionary.com (opens in a new window) records it from 2010–15, as the fall and winter, “including holidays from Thanksgiving to Valentine’s Day, when people are more inclined to pair up in committed romantic relationships.” In September 2026 Merriam-Webster added it (opens in a new window) with a shorter contract in mind: “a short-term romantic partner to spend the colder months of the year with.”
The demand has a season in the data. A 2013 study of internet searches (opens in a new window) found “a consistent 6-month harmonic cycle,” with searches related to sex and mating peaking in winter and early summer. The apps name their own peak, the first Sunday of January, and on it in 2025 Hinge reported (opens in a new window) a 31.2 percent increase in likes and a 24.5 percent rise in messages over an average Sunday.
Under load, the season is a fixed-term lease, signed in the autumn and timed to the holidays, when a partner is a line on several invitations at once. The two dictionaries disagree on whether the arrangement is committed or short-term. Both definitions are accurate, one written from each side of the lease. Renewal is never discussed at signing, because the day it would come up is already printed on the calendar.