avalanche
Americannoun
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a large mass of snow, ice, etc., detached from a mountain slope and sliding or falling suddenly downward.
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anything like an avalanche in suddenness and overwhelming quantity.
an avalanche of misfortunes; an avalanche of fan mail.
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Also called Townsend avalanche. Physics, Chemistry. a cumulative ionization process in which the ions and electrons of one generation undergo collisions that produce a greater number of ions and electrons in succeeding generations.
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
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a fall of large masses of snow and ice down a mountain
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a fall of rocks, sand, etc
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a sudden or overwhelming appearance of a large quantity of things
an avalanche of letters
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physics a group of ions or electrons produced by a single ion or electron as a result of a collision with some other form of matter
verb
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The sudden fall or slide of a large mass of material down the side of a mountain. Avalanches may contain snow, ice, rock, soil, or a mixture of these materials. Avalanches can be triggered by changes in temperature, by sound vibrations, or by vibrations in the earth itself.
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A process resulting in the production of large numbers of ionized particles, in which electrons or ions collide with molecules, with each collision itself producing an additional electron or ion that in turn collides with other molecules. Avalanches are what generate the pulses of electric current that are registered by Geiger counters.
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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avalanchesimple
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avalanchessimple
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have avalanchedperfect
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has avalanchedperfect
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am avalanchingprogressive
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are avalanchingprogressive
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is avalanchingprogressive
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have been avalanchingperfect progressive
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has been avalanchingperfect progressive
Past
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avalanchedsimple
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had avalanchedperfect
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was avalanchingprogressive
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were avalanchingprogressive
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had been avalanchingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of avalanche
1755–65; < French < dial. (Savoy) avalantse, alteration (by association with avaler to descend rapidly) of laventse < pre-Latin (perhaps Ligurian) *lavanca, or reshaping of Late Latin labīna landslide (derivative of Latin labī to slide) with a pre-Latin suffix -anca
Explanation
Look out below! An avalanche is a whole lot of falling snow and ice. Also, life can feel like an avalanche when things get hectic. Avalanche may be a fun word, but it's not a fun thing. If you were in a real, literal avalanche, then a huge amount of snow, ice, rocks, and mud would be falling off a mountain — potentially on to you. People get killed in avalanches. On the other hand, if every teacher in school gives you homework on the same night, that is "an avalanche of schoolwork." You'll survive it, but it's not much fun at the time.
Vocabulary lists containing avalanche
"All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury
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"There Will Come Soft Rains" by Ray Bradbury (1950)
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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.
See Examples For:
There is an avalanche of advice on TikTok about how to deal with a micromanager, and videos with the #micromanager tag have 230.2 million views and counting.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
From Germany's 7-1 rout of debutants Curacao in Houston on 14 June to Canada's 6-0 hammering of Qatar in Vancouver four days later, there has been an avalanche of goals.
From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026
The researchers found that the resulting "avalanche network" of potential failures is approximately four times denser than the underlying physical trade network.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 20, 2026
While their subplot is a worthy ding at today’s avalanche of junk, heaven help us if “Toy Story 6” co-stars an out-of-date cellphone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 18, 2026
Laney emerged from the comic-book avalanche still gripping Oliver’s hand.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
These deposits form when underwater avalanches of mud, sand, and debris rush down the seafloor and eventually settle into thick sediment layers.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 26, 2026
Five people were killed in a series of avalanches in the Austrian Alps as heavy snowfall hit the region on Friday.
From BBC ● Feb. 21, 2026
The latest deaths took to 18 the number of dead in avalanches in Austria this winter season.
From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026
While skiers have been enjoying the conditions, the heavy snow and strong winds have heightened the potential risk of avalanches on some of Scotland's highest mountains.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026
We slid down on our behinds, little avalanches of sand pouring around our feet and down our pants.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
James and the Lakers were getting avalanched, a run to undo a 17-point deficit got them to within a point before the Grizzlies smothered them with a barrage of baskets.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2023
No wonder Norway avalanched us in the medal count last month.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 26, 2018
It added: "Two of the rescue team men avalanched traversing below No 3 Gully Buttress."
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 2016
The awareness of the trend has since avalanched.
From Forbes ● Mar. 9, 2011
Macon returned with a basket and avalanched pink shrimp, corn on the cob, and red potatoes across the paper-covered table.
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
But many of today’s backcountry users want to make graceful turns through steep slopes covered with untracked powder, which means they generally want to ski slopes that have a relatively high possibility of avalanching.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2021
Unlike ski resorts, which use explosives and other mechanisms to keep inbounds slopes from avalanching during ski days, the backcountry is uncontrolled.
From Washington Post ● Nov. 11, 2021
For many artists the avalanching awards and wealth of later life come with an unwelcome diminishing of ideas, but Rauschenberg was still avid for discoveries in his 80s.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 25, 2016
The results came in slowly throughout all the night, and then all at once, with calls avalanching in from key states between 10 and 11 p.m..
From Time ● Nov. 5, 2014
I froze, my heart in my throat, but the avalanching ice passed fifty yards to the left, out of sight, without doing any damage.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
