cloud

American  

[klaud] / klaʊd /

noun

• clouds
  plural

1. a visible collection of particles of water or ice suspended in the air, usually at an elevation above the earth's surface.

   Synonyms:

   vapor

2. any similar mass, especially of smoke or dust.

3. a dim or obscure area in something otherwise clear or transparent.

4. a patch or spot differing in color from the surrounding surface.

5. anything that obscures or darkens something, or causes gloom, trouble, suspicion, disgrace, etc.

6. a great number of insects, birds, etc., flying together.

   a cloud of locusts obscuring the sun.

   Synonyms:

   army, crowd, host, throng, multitude, horde, swarm

7. Digital Technology. Usually the cloud any of several, often proprietary, parts of the internet that allow online processing and storage of documents and data as well as electronic access to software and other resources.

   More and more software companies are encouraging users to store their work in the cloud.

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adjective

Digital Technology.

1. of or relating to cloud computing.

   cloud software; cloud servers.

2. relating to or doing business on the internet.

   Google and other cloud companies.

verb (used with object)

• clouds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• clouded,
  past participle,  past
• clouding
  present participle

1. to overspread or cover with, or as with, a cloud or clouds.

   The smoke from the fire clouded the sun from view.

2. to overshadow; obscure; darken.

   The hardships of war cloud his childhood memories.

3. to make gloomy.

4. (of distress, anxiety, etc.) to reveal itself in (a part of one's face).

   Worry clouded his brow.

5. to make obscure or indistinct; confuse.

   Don't cloud the issue with unnecessary details.

   Synonyms:

   muddle, distort

6. to place under suspicion, disgrace, etc.

7. to variegate with patches of another color.

verb (used without object)

• clouds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• clouded,
  past participle,  past
• clouding
  present participle

1. to grow cloudy; become clouded.

2. (of a part of one's face) to reveal one's distress, anxiety, etc..

   His brow clouded with anger.

idioms

1. on a cloud, exceedingly happy; in high spirits.

   On the night of the prom the seniors were on a cloud.

2. under a cloud, in disgrace; under suspicion.

   After going bankrupt he left town under a cloud.

3. in the clouds,

   1. in a condition of absent-mindedness; lost in reverie.

   2. impractical.

      Their schemes are usually up in the clouds.

cloud British  

/ klaʊd /

noun

1. a mass of water or ice particles visible in the sky, usually white or grey, from which rain or snow falls when the particles coagulate See also cirrus cumulonimbus cumulus stratus

2. any collection of particles visible in the air, esp of smoke or dust

3. a large number of insects or other small animals in flight

4. something that darkens, threatens, or carries gloom

5. jewellery a cloudlike blemish in a transparent stone

6. (modifier) of or relating to cloud computing

   a cloud application

7. not in contact with reality

8. 1. under reproach or suspicion

   2. in a state of gloom or bad temper

9. informal elated; very happy

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verb

1. to make or become cloudy, overcast, or indistinct

2. (tr) to make obscure; darken

3. (tr) to confuse or impair

   emotion clouded his judgment

4. to make or become gloomy or depressed

5. (tr) to place under or render liable to suspicion or disgrace

6. to render (liquids) milky or dull or (of liquids) to become milky or dull

7. to become or render mottled or variegated

cloud Scientific  

/ kloud /

1. A visible body of very fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in the atmosphere at altitudes ranging up to several miles above sea level. Clouds are formed when air that contains water vapor cools below the dew point.

2. A distinguishable mass of particles or gas, such as the collection of gases and dust in a nebula.

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cloud More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing cloud

• head in the clouds
• on cloud nine
• silver lining, every cloud has
• under a cloud

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Synonym Usage

Cloud, fog, haze, mist differ somewhat in their figurative uses. Cloud connotes especially daydreaming: His mind is in the clouds. Fog and haze connote especially bewilderment or confusion: to go around in a fog ( haze ). Mist has an emotional connotation and suggests tears: a mist in one's eyes.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cloudlessness
  noun
• intercloud
  verb (used with object)
• cloudless
  adjective
• cloudlike
  adjective
• cloudlessly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• clouds
  plural

Participles

• clouding
  present
• clouded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• cloud
  simple
• clouds
  simple
• have clouded
  perfect
• has clouded
  perfect
• am clouding
  progressive
• are clouding
  progressive
• is clouding
  progressive
• have been clouding
  perfect progressive
• has been clouding
  perfect progressive

Past

• clouded
  simple
• had clouded
  perfect
• was clouding
  progressive
• were clouding
  progressive
• had been clouding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will cloud
  simple
• will have clouded
  perfect
• will be clouding
  progressive
• will have been clouding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of cloud

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English clūd “rock, hill”; akin to clod, Greek gloutós “buttock”; see gluteus ( def. )

Explanation

A cloud is a clump of water vapor that you can see in the sky. Clouds are sometimes white and puffy, and other times so big and gray that they completely block the sun. Clouds form when air rises and cools and the moisture in it condenses into a visible form. Any similar billowy mass is also a cloud, like a cloud of smoke over your campfire or a cloud of dust after your car peels out of the driveway. If you're gloomy or morose, someone might say there's a cloud over you — a figurative cloud of sadness. On the other hand, if you're "on cloud nine," you couldn't be happier.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cloud clouds clouded clouding

The palace issued a rebuttal to the book: “The pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and color memory in ways others do not recognize, even many years after such a loss.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

He touted a personal virtual machine, for example - essentially a self-contained computer system running inside Meta's cloud, where it says Muse users' data will be stored.

From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026

Oracle director Stephen Rusckowski bought 25,000 shares as reports about OpenAI’s revenue fueled swings in the cloud provider’s stock.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

This allows users to avoiding sending sensitive information to the cloud.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 7, 2026

The wind picked up as the sun went behind a cloud, and there was a growl of thunder.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Solar can’t fill the winter power gap because of “snow, clouds, and shortened daylight hours,” the grid operator says.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

If a planet has an atmosphere, it might also have clouds that reflect incoming starlight and cool the dayside.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

This approach to weather modification, now more than 80-years-old, involves using planes and drones to disperse compounds such as silver iodide into clouds to form ice crystals.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

A key feature already in place, hanging from the ceiling, is an array of steel clouds packed with concrete, designed to improve acoustics and evoke a sense of airiness.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Suddenly, the clouds at the end of the ravine parted, and Torak saw what lay beyond.

From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver

India’s economy maintained a solid pace of growth in the April-June quarter, showing resilience even as the Middle East conflict clouded the outlook.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 31, 2026

Still, her transformation of Parton’s clouded sunshine into a feral ache is stunning.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

The resumption of the war right before the Fed’s July meeting clouded the outlook for inflation, officials said.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

Anderson, who plays Win, and Jason Isaac, who plays Moth, have spoken about the controversy that clouded its UK release for the first time.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Ivy’s head clouded with all the things she didn’t know and didn’t know how to ask.

From "Ivy Aberdeen’s Letter to the World" by Ashley Herring Blake

But inside the brain trusts of Silicon Valley, billions of investor dollars and years of tortured rationalist arguments are clouding a similar argument about artificial intelligence.

From Salon ● Sep. 12, 2026

Ash from the eruptions has been clouding the skies over eastern Sicily and has disrupted hundreds of flights at Catania International Airport in the past week.

From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026

Kallman’s unexpected involvement disconcerted Stravinsky, who feared Auden’s sexual inclinations were clouding his literary judgment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Or am I just so taken with this show, a series I myself came to late, that my enthusiasm is clouding my judgment?

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026

The misery of the inevitable was clouding her thoughts.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• darkness
• fog
• gloom
• mist
• puff
• smog
• smoke
• steam
• vapor
• veil