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cirrus

[ sir-uhs ]
/ ˈsɪr əs /
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See synonyms for cirrus on Thesaurus.com
noun, plural cir·rus for 1, cir·ri [sir-ahy] /ˈsɪr aɪ/ for 2, 3.
Meteorology.
  1. a cloud of a class characterized by thin white filaments or narrow bands and a composition of ice crystals: of high altitude, about 20,000–40,000 feet (6000–12,000 meters).
  2. a cirriform cloud.
Botany. a tendril.
Zoology.
  1. a filament or slender appendage serving as a foot, tentacle, barbel, etc.
  2. the male copulatory organ of flatworms and various other invertebrates.
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Origin of cirrus

1700–10; <Latin: a curl, tuft, plant filament like a tuft of hair

Words nearby cirrus

cirripede, cirro-, cirrocumulus, cirrose, cirrostratus, cirrus, cirrus clouds, cirsoid, cis, cisaconitic acid, cisalpine
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Words related to cirrus

clasp, coil, curl, ringlet

How to use cirrus in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cirrus

cirrus
/ (ˈsɪrəs) /
noun plural -ri (-raɪ)
meteorol a thin wispy fibrous cloud at high altitudes, composed of ice particles
a plant tendril or similar part
zoology
  1. a slender tentacle or filament in barnacles and other marine invertebrates
  2. a hairlike structure in other animals, such as a filament on the appendage of an insect or a barbel of a fish

Word Origin for cirrus

C18: from Latin: curl, tuft, fringe
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

Scientific definitions for cirrus

cirrus
[ sîr′əs ]
Plural cirri (sîr′ī′)
A high-altitude cloud composed of feathery white patches or bands of ice crystals. Cirrus clouds generally form between 6,100 and 12,200 m (20,000 and 40,000 ft). See illustration at cloud.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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