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jet stream

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noun
  1. strong, generally westerly winds concentrated in a relatively narrow and shallow stream in the upper troposphere of the earth.
  2. similar strong winds in the atmosphere of another planet: jet streams on Jupiter.
  3. the exhaust of a jet or rocket engine.

Origin of jet stream

First recorded in 1945–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for jet stream

jet stream

noun
  1. meteorol a narrow belt of high-altitude winds (about 12 000 metres high) moving east at high speeds and having an important effect on frontogenesis
  2. the jet of exhaust gases produced by a gas turbine, rocket motor, etc
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
jet stream in Science

jet stream

  1. A narrow current of strong wind circling the Earth from west to east at altitudes of about 11 to 13 km (7 to 8 mi) above sea level. There are usually four distinct jet streams, two each in the Northern and Southern hemispheres. Jet stream wind speeds average 56 km (34 mi) per hour in the summer and 120 km (74 mi) in the winter. They are caused by significant differences in the temperatures of adjacent air masses. These differences occur where cold, polar air meets warmer, equatorial air, especially in the latitudes of the westerlies.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
jet stream in Culture

jet stream

A narrow band of swiftly moving air found at very high altitudes.

Note

Movements of the jet stream have important (but generally short-lived) effects on weather patterns.

Note

Travel time in an airplane can be lengthened or shortened by the jet stream, depending on the direction of flight and the strength of the stream.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.