cyclone
cyclone Lexical Profile
cyclone Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A large-scale atmospheric system of winds that rotates inward around a center of low atmospheric pressure, turning counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere, often bringing severe stormy weather.
"Coastal residents were evacuated before the powerful cyclone made landfall along the bay."
American A violent, destructive rotating column of air extending from a cumulonimbus cloud to the ground; a tornado.
"The old wooden barn was completely flattened when a cyclone swept across the prairie."
A mechanical conical device that uses centrifugal force and a high-speed rotating vortex of air or liquid to separate solid particles from a fluid or gas stream.
"The woodworking shop installed an industrial cyclone to filter fine sawdust from the exhaust air."
Word Nuance & Usage
In meteorology, 'cyclone', 'hurricane', and 'typhoon' all refer to the same type of severe rotating tropical storm, differentiated only by geographic location: 'hurricane' is used in the North Atlantic and northeastern Pacific, 'typhoon' in the northwestern Pacific, and 'cyclone' in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean.
• Rhymes for cyclone
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Coined in 1848 by British East India Company official Henry Piddington from the Ancient Greek 'kyklōma' (meaning 'wheel' or 'coil of a snake'), derived from 'kyklos' ('circle'), to describe the spiraling motion of tropical storms.