avalanche
Americannoun
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avalanches
plural
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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)
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avalanches,
present (3rd person singular)
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avalanched,
past participle, past
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avalanching
present participle
verb (used with object)
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avalanches,
present (3rd person singular)
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avalanched,
past participle, past
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avalanching
present participle
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:
OpenAI says it drew on those recommendations as it released this avalanche of math.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
We are still working through the first side of the record, and the memories are an avalanche at this point.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
William & Mary used “a thrilling avalanche of forward passes” and “set their teeth grimly to stage a gigantic comeback” in the third quarter, according to a Newport News story at the time.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the area in 2015 and triggered a rock-ice avalanche, could have also weakened the underlying rock mass, according to the study.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
But when Malone called the avalanche forecaster to update him on the earthquakes, there was a different question weighing on the forecaster’s mind.
From "Mountain of Fire" by Rebecca E. F. Barone
The researchers point to possible applications in avalanches, landslides, materials science, and particle-filled inks used in 3D printing.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 18, 2026
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
And although thick, this season's snow covering has been unstable, contributing to a steep rise in the number of people killed by alpine avalanches.
From BBC ● Mar. 14, 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
Each individual had to understand how to make a stone knife, how to mend a torn cloak, how to lay a rabbit trap, and how to face avalanches, snakebites or hungry lions.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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
The wind howled, the snow avalanched, and the air creaked.
From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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
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
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
Back we go, avalanching rocks as we scramble up the shaley streambed and arrive at the embankment where we had seen an ear of corn.
From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
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