cloud
Americannoun
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a visible collection of particles of water or ice suspended in the air, usually at an elevation above the earth's surface.
- Synonyms:
- vapor
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any similar mass, especially of smoke or dust.
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a dim or obscure area in something otherwise clear or transparent.
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a patch or spot differing in color from the surrounding surface.
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anything that obscures or darkens something, or causes gloom, trouble, suspicion, disgrace, etc.
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a great number of insects, birds, etc., flying together.
a cloud of locusts obscuring the sun.
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Digital Technology. Usually the cloud any of several, often proprietary, parts of the internet that allow online processing and storage of documents and data as well as electronic access to software and other resources.
More and more software companies are encouraging users to store their work in the cloud.
adjective
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of or relating to cloud computing.
cloud software; cloud servers.
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relating to or doing business on the internet.
Google and other cloud companies.
verb (used with object)
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to overspread or cover with, or as with, a cloud or clouds.
The smoke from the fire clouded the sun from view.
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to overshadow; obscure; darken.
The hardships of war cloud his childhood memories.
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to make gloomy.
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(of distress, anxiety, etc.) to reveal itself in (a part of one's face).
Worry clouded his brow.
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to make obscure or indistinct; confuse.
Don't cloud the issue with unnecessary details.
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to place under suspicion, disgrace, etc.
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to variegate with patches of another color.
verb (used without object)
idioms
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on a cloud, exceedingly happy; in high spirits.
On the night of the prom the seniors were on a cloud.
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under a cloud, in disgrace; under suspicion.
After going bankrupt he left town under a cloud.
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in the clouds,
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in a condition of absent-mindedness; lost in reverie.
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impractical.
Their schemes are usually up in the clouds.
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noun
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a mass of water or ice particles visible in the sky, usually white or grey, from which rain or snow falls when the particles coagulate See also cirrus cumulonimbus cumulus stratus
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any collection of particles visible in the air, esp of smoke or dust
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a large number of insects or other small animals in flight
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something that darkens, threatens, or carries gloom
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jewellery a cloudlike blemish in a transparent stone
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(modifier) of or relating to cloud computing
a cloud application
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not in contact with reality
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under reproach or suspicion
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in a state of gloom or bad temper
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informal elated; very happy
verb
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to make or become cloudy, overcast, or indistinct
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(tr) to make obscure; darken
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(tr) to confuse or impair
emotion clouded his judgment
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to make or become gloomy or depressed
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(tr) to place under or render liable to suspicion or disgrace
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to render (liquids) milky or dull or (of liquids) to become milky or dull
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to become or render mottled or variegated
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A visible body of very fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in the atmosphere at altitudes ranging up to several miles above sea level. Clouds are formed when air that contains water vapor cools below the dew point.
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A distinguishable mass of particles or gas, such as the collection of gases and dust in a nebula.
Related Words
Cloud, fog, haze, mist differ somewhat in their figurative uses. Cloud connotes especially daydreaming: His mind is in the clouds. Fog and haze connote especially bewilderment or confusion: to go around in a fog ( haze ). Mist has an emotional connotation and suggests tears: a mist in one's eyes.
Other Word Forms
- cloudless adjective
- cloudlessly adverb
- cloudlessness noun
- cloudlike adjective
- intercloud verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of cloud
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English clūd “rock, hill”; akin to clod, Greek gloutós “buttock”; gluteus ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The January jobs report was delayed by the brief government shutdown, clouding investors’ read on the economy.
The low clouds and fog that hung over parts of the Santa Clara area Sunday morning were expected to clear by noon, with the region becoming a bit more sunny.
From Los Angeles Times
“MHF is simply too dangerous to use. It is a flesh-eating, low-crawling, toxic vapor cloud. Our communities will not be safe until this chemical is gone.”
From Los Angeles Times
The shoot involved long treks up a mountain each day, unpredictable weather, veteran actors, heavy equipment and frequent rushes to beat the rain and descending clouds.
From BBC
In nearly 130 years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average has evolved from its origins as a list of “smokestack” raw-materials and industrial businesses to its modern-day inclusion of cloud computing and semiconductor giants.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
