updraft
Americannoun
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An upward current of warm, moist air. With enough moisture, the current may visibly condense into a cumulus or cumulonimbus cloud.
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Compare downdraft
Etymology
Origin of updraft
late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at up-, draft
Vocabulary lists containing updraft
Physical Geography - Middle School
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Physical Geography - High 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.
Horizon by Fran Wilde Fran Wilde first introduced readers to her Bone Universe trilogy with Updraft, a coming-of-age tale about a teenage girl named Kirit who lives in a fantastical city of bone towers.
From The Verge • Sep. 1, 2017
Fran Wilde’s debut novel Updraft has earned her considerable praise, including an Andre Norton award for best YA fiction.
From The Verge • Sep. 1, 2016
I did pass Updraft around to a brace of critics, and none of them could hang a plagiarism charge on Hardy.
From The Mind Digger by Marks, Winston K.
Parodisiac was much too good to hold for the closing of Updraft.
From The Mind Digger by Marks, Winston K.
For Sale, one small Economic Roller, 1 Brown's triple action Roller, 2 Eastern Produce Roll Breakers, 1 Updraft Sirocco Dryer—all the above in good order and can be seen working.
From Punch or the London Charivari, October 10, 1920 by Seaman, Owen, Sir
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.