blizzard

[ bliz-erd ]

/ ˈblɪz ərd /

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See synonyms for: blizzard / blizzards on Thesaurus.com

noun

Meteorology.

a storm, technically an extratropical cyclone, with dry, driving snow, strong winds, and intense cold.
a heavy and prolonged snowstorm covering a wide area.

an inordinately large amount all at one time: a blizzard of Christmas cards.

verb (used without object)

to snow as a blizzard: Looks as though it's going to blizzard tonight.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of blizzard

An Americanism first recorded in 1820–30 for earlier meaning “violent blow, shot”; compare British dialectal (Midlands) blizzer, blizzom “blaze, flash, anything that blinds momentarily”; probably expressive formations with components of blast, blaze¹, bluster, etc.

OTHER WORDS FROM blizzard

bliz·zard·y, bliz·zard·ly, adjective

Words nearby blizzard

blitzed, blitzkrieg, Blitzstein, blivit, Blixen, blizzard, blk., B.LL., BL Lac object, BLM, bloat

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use blizzard in a sentence

It can be dangerous to shelter in a trapped vehicleIt’s a mixed blessing when you get your vehicle stuck in the snow during a blizzard.
10 winter survival tips everyone should know|Tim MacWelch|December 15, 2020|Popular-Science
The problem with looking for galaxy-wide motion is that the Milky Way is a raging blizzard of stars, with astronomers looking outward from one of the snowflakes.
The New History of the Milky Way|Charlie Wood|December 15, 2020|Quanta Magazine
The “World’s Only Corn Palace” and its whimsical domes had showcased the town’s agricultural bounty and brought tourists to town since 1892, and seen Mitchell through fires, floods and the blizzards of 1949 and 1966.
A rural S.D. community ignored the virus for months. Then people started dying.|Annie Gowen|December 9, 2020|Washington Post
Plastic igloos look cute — but they won’t cut it during a blizzard, nor do they run cheapThe pandemic has made dining as we previously knew it impossible, and serving customers outside has been one somewhat promising lifeline.
Three Eater Editors on the Costs of Winter Dining and a Return to Takeout|Ellie Krupnick|October 30, 2020|Eater

A beautiful bluebird day can quickly turn into a thunderstorm with catastrophic lightning, while blizzards and dust storms can sneak up on you like ninjas.
How to Survive 5 Extreme Weather Scenarios|Graham Averill|October 15, 2020|Outside Online
He also expanded on the need to get the average American out from under the blizzard of paperwork that the tax season brings.
Huckabee: ‘A Tax Is Punishment’|Lloyd Green|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Many of us have tired of the blizzard of histories marking the sesquicentennial of the first years of the American Civil War.
Atlanta’s Fall Foretold The End Of Civil War Bloodshed|Marc Wortman|September 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Driving from the Denver airport to Wyoming, I encountered an almost-otherworldly whiteout of a blizzard.
Native American Basketball Team in Wyoming Have Hoop Dreams Of Their Own|Robert Silverman|August 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For years your bright light was darkened by a blizzard of lies, cheating and innuendo.
I Pushed the Lance Armstrong Lie: An Open Letter to Greg LeMond|Mark McKinnon|July 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Oh, so you fall for Eva in both Sin City and White Bird in a Blizzard.
Life After ‘SVU’: Christopher Meloni on ‘They Came Together,’ Stabler, and His Famous Behind|Marlow Stern|June 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
"Wal, jist wait till a good winter blizzard comes through here like they do," interrupted Landy.
David Lannarck, Midget|George S. Harney
“Blizzard” and “mugwump” were new but a short time ago: the latter is dying from disuse, the former has come to stay.
English: Composition and Literature|W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
Snow began to fall now and a regular blizzard set in, the fine powdery snow being blown along the ground into our faces.
Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921|Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury
But the cold was too much for the goats and the second blizzard killed them all.
Space Prison|Tom Godwin
I've ridden night herd in a blizzard when the temperature was below zero.
The Highgrader|William MacLeod Raine

British Dictionary definitions for blizzard

blizzard

/ (ˈblɪzəd) /

noun

a strong bitterly cold wind accompanied by a widespread heavy snowfall

Word Origin for blizzard

C19: of uncertain origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012