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.
She’s coming off the bench behind Nneka Ogwumike and Dearica Hamby for the Sparks, who are a modest 6-6 after wins this week over the expansion Portland Fire and the struggling Seattle Storm.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
Storm Jangmi -- which was downgraded from a typhoon -- injured 15 people in southern Japan on Tuesday, knocked out power to thousands of homes and grounded hundreds of flights.
From Barron's • Jun. 3, 2026
Weeks later, up to 30,000 households faced days of water chaos - which SEW blamed on cold weather and Storm Goretti.
From BBC • May 28, 2026
Estonia this month hosted an annual exercise, dubbed Spring Storm, with about 12,000 troops from across NATO, including contingents from the U.K. and France.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
Each day, he saw colorful parades by SS, Storm Troopers, and Labor Guard units.
From "Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
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.
