Beaufort scale

[ boh-fert ]

noun(no longer in technical use)
  1. a scale of wind forces, described by name and range of velocity, and classified as from force 0 to force 12, or, sometimes, to force 17.

  2. a scale of the states of sea created by winds of these various forces up to and including force 10.

Origin of Beaufort scale

1
1855–60; named after Sir Francis Beaufort (1774–1857), British admiral who devised it

Words Nearby Beaufort scale

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How to use Beaufort scale in a sentence

  • The classification of winds, here stated, is that known as the "Beaufort scale."

    The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson

British Dictionary definitions for Beaufort scale

Beaufort scale

noun
  1. meteorol an international scale of wind velocities ranging for practical purposes from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane force). In the US an extension of the scale, from 13 to 17 for winds over 64 knots, is used

Origin of Beaufort scale

1
C19: after Sir Francis Beaufort (1774–1857), British admiral and hydrographer who devised it

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for Beaufort scale

Beaufort scale

[ fərt ]


  1. A scale for classifying the force of the wind, ranging from 0 (calm) to 12 (hurricane). A wind classified as 0 has a velocity of less than 1.6 km (1 mi) per hour; a wind classified as 12 has a velocity of over 119 km (74 mi) per hour. Other categories include light air, five levels of breeze, four levels of gale, and storm. The scale was devised in 1805 as a means of describing the effect of different wind velocities on ships at sea. It is named after an admiral in the British navy, Sir Francis Beaufort (1774-1857).

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