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.
That means the importance of cyclone clustering extends beyond the strength of any individual storm.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
Even though both the international oil benchmark and the U.S. benchmark have significantly jumped over the past two weeks as tensions in the Middle East have escalated, JPMorgan sees stocks weathering the storm.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026
Usually there's a spell when the team that's ahead has to weather some kind of storm.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
The storm, which churned the waters of the Pacific over the last week, stripped sand off the beach, making it no longer safe to hold the festival there, the city said.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
The wind had whipped it to a fury, and it wasn’t ready to calm down just because the storm had passed.
From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr
Guests were shuttled to the Storm King Art Center, where we were greeted with Blank Street Coffee and lavender vanilla scoops from Laz’s Ice Cream.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
The soldiers sent to fight in Russia were from Storm Corps, the elite of the North Korean armed forces.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Flooding from Storm Chandra in the hamlet of Weycroft on January 27, 2026 in Axminster, England.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Tuesday, with weather officials urging extreme caution as the ocean continues to churn from the remnants of Tropical Storm Marie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2026
Storm sat backward, the tug hooked up but hanging down.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
The number of named storms in the northeastern Pacific is about 40% above average for this time of year, according to data from Colorado State University.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Although the storms tend to be less intense, they can still significantly alter local sea ice conditions.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 14, 2026
The waters of the Pacific Ocean have been unsettled in recent weeks by a series of tropical storms, with some of them developing into hurricanes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
There may be dust storms, which contribute to “playa lung” — a term Burners have coined to describe a cough or losing one’s voice after breathing in dust daily.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
A moment that had passed, like all storms eventually do.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
That night some of them stormed a major highway, closing lanes of traffic to demand a response from state authorities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
When Abe Saperstein, the Globetrotters’ founder, stormed the Reds locker room in a huff, Klotz warned him, “If you let your guard down, we’ll get you again.”
From Salon ● Aug. 19, 2026
Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman, who stormed out of his Netflix investment a few years ago, has rekindled that old flame.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 13, 2026
After the most recent, when a gunman stormed a hotel in Washington during a White House dinner, Trump's security team said they would review their protocols for protecting the president.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
And then she stormed out of the room, and left the door wide open.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
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
Another potential scenario, Shpaizman said, is one resembling the storming of the US Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021, as they tried to stop certification of his election defeat.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Back then, at a vote held in Kigali, Rwanda, the support for him was so overwhelming that he was ushered back into office by acclaim, with a storming round of applause replacing a formal vote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
A late time violation penalty left Laura Siegemund storming off the court upset, triggering a dispute between her partner Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Ostapenko over claims of persistent slow play.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 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
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.
