avalanche

[av-uh-lanch, -lahnch]

noun

1. a large mass of snow, ice, etc., detached from a mountain slope and sliding or falling suddenly downward.

2. anything like an avalanche in suddenness and overwhelming quantity.

   an avalanche of misfortunes; an avalanche of fan mail.

3. 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)

avalanched, avalanching 

1. to come down in, or like, an avalanche.

verb (used with object)

avalanched, avalanching 

1. to overwhelm with an extremely large amount of anything; swamp.

avalanche

/ ˈævəˌlɑːntʃ /

noun

1. 1. a fall of large masses of snow and ice down a mountain

   2. a fall of rocks, sand, etc

2. a sudden or overwhelming appearance of a large quantity of things

   an avalanche of letters

3. 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

1. to come down overwhelmingly (upon)

avalanche

1. 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.

2. 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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of avalanche¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of avalanche¹

C18: from French, by mistaken division from la valanche, from valanche, from (northwestern Alps) dialect lavantse; related to Old Provençal lavanca, of obscure origin

Example Sentences

When snow falls in extreme storms as opposed to steadily over the course of the season, it increases the risk of avalanches and can force resorts to stop running lifts due to safety concerns.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The 50-year-old's mask of respectability was ripped away in 2021 as an avalanche of testimonies piled up from women describing harrowing abuse he inflicted upon them.

Read more on BBC

I hate to admit it, but Benefo is right—I can’t go a day without hearing some news story about a dormant volcano erupting or an avalanche crumbling down a mountainside.

Read more on Literature

The answering growl was like a deep rumble of thunder, or the roar of a steam engine approaching the station, or the sound of a snowy avalanche on some distant alpine peak.

Read more on Literature

A large swath of the country, from eastern Washington to western Arkansas, is currently facing an avalanche of hard and spiky bouncing beach-balls of the noxious, unpleasant weed.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• barrage 
• deluge 
• flood 
• landslide 
• torrent