dust devil

American  

[duhst dev-uhl] / ˈdʌst ˌdɛv əl /

noun

Meteorology.

1. a well-developed dust whirl with a diameter of about 10–100 feet (3–30 meters), rotating either clockwise or counterclockwise, common in dry regions on hot, calm afternoons and made visible by the dust, debris, and sand it picks up from the ground: dust devils on average are about 660 feet (200 meters) tall, but some have exceeded a height of 3,280 feet (1 kilometer).

   We noticed the base of the dust devil following a direct path along the ground, but its uppermost portion was meandering wildly.

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dust devil British  

noun

1. a strong miniature whirlwind that whips up dust, litter, leaves, etc into the air

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Etymology

Origin of dust devil

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dust devil

The dust devil came and went over Perseverance quickly last year, thus the short length of the audio, said the University of Toulouse’s Naomi Murdoch, lead author of the study appearing in Nature Communications.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 2022

A dust devil is a bit like a miniature storm cell.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 13, 2022

A dust devil has been spotted in a field following a wildfire in County Durham.

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2022

“Maybe we’ll get a nice thick dust devil and we’ll have enough power to keep going for a while,” Daubar says.

From Scientific American ● May 24, 2022

But it is easy to ward off the dust devil, it is easy to make it change its path and skirt around you.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

Related Words

• sandstorm