stratus
Americannoun
noun
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A diffuse, grayish cloud that often produces drizzle and is formed primarily in altitudes no higher than 2,000 m (6,560 ft). A stratus cloud close to the ground or water is called fog.
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See illustration at cloud
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of stratus
1795–1805; < Latin strātus; see stratum
Explanation
A low, flat cloud is called a stratus. When the sky is full of stratus clouds, it can make the day feel gray and dull. Stratus can be used as a noun or an adjective: "I can't see the moon—there are too many stratus clouds tonight." Strati are characterized by their dense haziness. They are basically fog that sits low in the atmosphere, occasionally releasing small amounts of rain or snow. Sometimes they're called "high fog." In Latin, stratus means "a spreading."
Vocabulary lists containing stratus
Weather and Climate - Introductory
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Weather and Climate - Middle School
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Earth Science - Middle School
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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.
Hudson said the coronavirus subvariant XFG, nicknamed Stratus, accounts for the vast majority of variants seen in wastewater.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 26, 2025
Isla grew up in Balornock in the north of Glasgow, and first had her attention grabbed by the squared circle as a child, loving early 2000s competitors like Trish Stratus and Lita.
From BBC • Dec. 31, 2024
Williams told police that he felt dizzy after the crash and wanted to wait in his Dodge Stratus until help arrived, the court papers state.
From Washington Post • Dec. 15, 2022
Ms. Grogan’s nephew Sam Brownell, a chartered financial analyst with Stratus Wealth Advisors in Kensington, Md., walked her through a number of software-driven cash-flow scenarios involving Social Security.
From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2022
Anyone interested to-day in weather phenomena is acquainted with the terms used in cloud classification - Cirrus, Cumulus, Stratus, and Nimbus.
From Man or Matter by Lehrs, Ernst
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.
