cloudburst
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of cloudburst
Explanation
A cloudburst is a sudden deluge of rain that sends you running for cover. If the sky looks ominous and gray in the morning, you may want to grab an umbrella in case there's a cloudburst later. A cloudburst is exactly what it sounds like: torrential rain that seems to burst from a saturated cloud. This American English word was coined in the early 19th century, modeled after the German Wolkenbruch, or "cloud break." Whenever the weather abruptly changes from not raining to a downpour of heavy rain, you can call it a cloudburst.
Vocabulary lists containing cloudburst
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.
A twin-prop Chinook helicopter shatters the calm of the Dutch countryside, hovering just metres from a canal before dumping four huge sandbags into the water: welcome to Operation Cloudburst.
From Barron's • Nov. 7, 2025
I work with half-eaten roast chicken and whatever lurks behind the mayo and the Cloudburst ale.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 22, 2020
The plan, called Operation Cloudburst, made it all the way to President Eisenhower’s desk.
From Salon • Mar. 11, 2017
On Sept. 17 and 24, Marshall Keys and Cloudburst will perform.
From Washington Post • Sep. 4, 2015
The dreamthinkspeak company presents this promenade production inspired mainly by Leonardo Da Vinci's drawing A Cloudburst of Material Possessions, an image of man's obsession with the material and mass-produced over the spiritual.
From The Guardian • Jan. 26, 2013
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
