torrent
Americannoun
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a fast, voluminous, or violent stream of water or other liquid
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an overwhelming flow of thoughts, words, sound, etc
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computing a file that controls the transfer of data in a BitTorrent system See BitTorrent
adjective
Etymology
Origin of torrent
1595–1605; < Latin torrent- (stem of torrēns ) seething, literally, burning, present participle of torrēre to burn, parch; see torrid, -ent
Explanation
A torrent is a heavy rain, or the flooding or wildly-running streams it causes, like the torrent that soaks everyone unlucky enough to be out on the street at that moment. Because the noun torrent literally means "rushing stream," it often describes fast-flowing water, like a rainstorm or creeks and rivers that overflow their banks. But the word can also describe any sudden inundation, like a deluge of words or thoughts, like when, in anger, you unleash a torrent of emotional words on your friend. Like a violent storm, you pour those words, not letting up in order to let him or her explain the other side of the story.
Vocabulary lists containing torrent
A Long Walk to Water
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List 5
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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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.
“We have to enjoy now, the present,” said Domenec Torrent, Monterrey’s technical director.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2025
Cinema holds the frozen memory of Torrent as a kid, but reality has moved on.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 31, 2024
When her father stepped down from Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council ahead of the 2005 election, she won the seat he vacated in the Torrent electoral area.
From BBC • Feb. 12, 2024
Torrent spent 11 years at Guardiola's side as his assistant before leaving Manchester City for a head coach role with New York City FC in 2018.
From BBC • Jan. 29, 2024
Borrell did fealty for Sweetsister, as Longthorpe did for Longsister and Torrent for Littlesister; all were sworn to Triston Sunderland, the Lord of the Three Sisters.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
