avalanche

American  

[av-uh-lanch, -lahnch] / ˈæv əˌlæntʃ, -ˌlɑntʃ /

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.

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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 British  

/ 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

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verb

1. to come down overwhelmingly (upon)

avalanche Scientific  

/ ăv′ə-lănch′ /

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.

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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

Example Sentences

Two more people have died in the Sierra, adding to the toll of a deadly winter season that last week claimed nine lives in the Castle Peak avalanche.

From Los Angeles Times

The decisions will help determine the direction of an economy that powered through an avalanche of change in 2025 and emerged in the new year on a better-than-expected footing.

From The Wall Street Journal

The ninth and final missing skier has been found dead in California's Lake Tahoe backcountry, five days after a powerful avalanche struck several guides and a tight-knit group of friends on a trip.

From BBC

It was a civic guessing game as to where the presumably late Mrs. Scott might be — maybe under an avalanche of concrete being poured for one of L.A.’s new freeways.

From Los Angeles Times

Five people were killed in a series of avalanches in the Austrian Alps as heavy snowfall hit the region on Friday.

From BBC

Related Words

• barrage
• deluge
• flood
• landslide
• torrent