a disturbance of the normal condition of the atmosphere, manifesting itself by winds of unusual force or direction, often accompanied by rain, snow, hail, thunder, and lightning, or flying sand or dust.
a heavy fall of rain, snow, or hail, or a violent outbreak of thunder and lightning, unaccompanied by strong winds.
Also called violent storm. Meteorology. a wind of 64–72 miles per hour (29–32 meters per second).
a violent military assault on a fortified place, strong position, or the like.
a heavy or sudden volley or discharge.
a storm of criticism; a storm of bullets.
a violent disturbance of affairs, as a civil, political, social, or domestic commotion.
a violent outburst or outbreak of expression.
a storm of applause.
Informal. storm window.
(of the wind or weather) to blow with unusual force, or to rain, snow, hail, etc., especially with violence (usually used impersonally with it as subject).
It stormed all day.
to rage or complain with violence or fury.
He stormed angrily at me.
to deliver a violent attack or fire, as with artillery.
The troops stormed against the garrison.
to rush to an assault or attack.
The tanks stormed towards the city.
to rush angrily.
to storm out of a room.
to subject to or as if to a storm.
The salesman stormed them with offers.
to utter or say with angry vehemence.
The strikers stormed their demands.
to attack or assault (persons, places, or things).
to storm a fortress.
a violent weather condition of strong winds, rain, hail, thunder, lightning, blowing sand, snow, etc
( as modifier )
storm signal
storm sail
( in combination )
stormproof
meteorol a violent gale of force 10 on the Beaufort scale reaching speeds of 55 to 63 mph
a strong or violent reaction
a storm of protest
a direct assault on a stronghold
a heavy discharge or rain, as of bullets or missiles
short for storm window
US equivalent: tempest in a teapot. a violent fuss or disturbance over a trivial matter
to capture or overrun by a violent assault
to overwhelm and enthral
to attack or capture (something) suddenly and violently
(intr) to be vociferously angry
(intr) to move or rush violently or angrily
(intr; with it as subject) to rain, hail, or snow hard and be very windy, often with thunder or lightning
A low-pressure atmospheric disturbance resulting in strong winds accompanied by rain, snow, or other precipitation and often by thunder and lightning.
A wind with a speed from 103 to 117 km (64 to 73 mi) per hour, rating 11 on the Beaufort scale.
First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch storm, German Sturm, Old Norse stormr; (verb) Middle English stormen, derivative of the noun (compare obsolete sturme, Middle English sturmen, Old English styrman, denominative verb from the same Germanic base as storm ); akin to stir 1
A storm is what happens when the earth's atmosphere is disturbed. If the weather report says that a storm is on the way, you might want to carry an umbrella — or just stay at home and watch movies. Storms range from the windstorm that blows branches off your tree to the snowstorm that buries your neighborhood under two feet of the white stuff. It's a verb too: "It began to storm outside, and the rain beat down on the windows." Figuratively, you might even storm angrily: "My sister was so mad that she stormed around her room, kicking things." Something controversial can also cause a figurative storm, or uproar.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It plans to ask for approval to securitize those costs, a strategy utilities often use for storm or fire recovery, which could lessen the bill impact by spreading out payments over a long period.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
Just last month, travel on the railway was partially shuttered because of high tides, which came just weeks after a temporary closure in September due to erosion and slope damage following a strong Pacific storm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
The answer may lie in its limited spending on AI, as tech investors now view Cupertino as a port in an AI storm, writes Christine Ji.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
In August, Typhoon Chan-Hom baffled storm watchers in Japan by crossing the country from east to west, as opposed to the usual south-to-north trajectory.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
But the storm blew me a long way, so it’ll take a couple of days.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
The August earthquake in Colombia, Atlantic windstorms that affected the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco, and Winter Storm Fern in the U.S. and Canada at the start of the year represented the biggest losses, it said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 9, 2026
European allies, who have lagged behind, are racing to field new models and boost their small stocks of Storm Shadow, Scalp and Taurus cruise missiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Earlier in October a Kelvin wave and strengthened tides due to Tropical Storm Rachel brought flooding to multiple beach communities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
NIE said around 12,500 properties were without power at one stage after Storm Boelo.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Edric Storm, thought Davos, but I sent him far away across the narrow sea, to keep him safe from Melisandre’s fires.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
The warning came after recent storms disrupted sea and air connections, and questions over how prepared the island is for more prolonged supply problems.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
When the American people are strong and confident, when their leaders hear their voices, America, whatever storms it might be weathering, will make it through.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026
The roughly $114-million crossing is set to open Dec. 2, barring any delays from fierce winter storms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
Residents say they still experience outages during heavy storms, as Laos's own electricity infrastructure is outdated and the state utility is heavily in debt.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
She storms out of the office with Stephen and his dad.
From "Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish" by Pablo Cartaya
The back-to-back Masters champion then stormed up the leaderboard with five consecutive birdies from holes nine to 13.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Late Monday, dozens of people, including the mother of a Novi Sad disaster victim, stormed Informer's premises and disrupted its broadcast.
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
"Water! Water!" the crowd shouted as it stormed a compound with data centres, armed with empty plastic bottles and jerry cans.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Shares of Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and other hardware companies stormed higher on Monday in a show of intense investor appetite for the artificial-intelligence trade.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Back at the lakefront, black bathers stormed from Twenty-Sixth Street to the Twenty-Ninth Street beach.
From "A Few Red Drops: The Chicago Race Riot of 1919" by Claire Hartfield
Shares of Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and other hardware stocks were storming higher on Monday in a show of intense investor appetite for the artificial-intelligence trade.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Still, though it wakes up when we get to the storming of the Bastille, economically but effectively rendered, and, later the Reign of Terror, in between it can turn into a murky, mopey slog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Sabalenka losing the top spot seemed unthinkable after a storming start to the season, reaching the Australian Open final and winning the Indian Wells and Miami titles back-to-back.
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
For many at the front, the main fear is not an infantryman storming over the top, but an unseen enemy operating a drone from far away with a joystick.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
“The purpose,” he later explained, “was to keep over 100,000 angry protestors from storming the White House.”
From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
