El Niño

[ el neen-yoh; Spanish el nee-nyaw ]

/ ɛl ˈnin yoʊ; Spanish ɛl ˈni nyɔ /

Save This Word!

noun

a warm ocean current of variable intensity that develops after late December along the coast of Ecuador and Peru and sometimes causes catastrophic weather conditions.

QUIZ

CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?

There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?

Question 1 of 7

Which sentence is correct?

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.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Compare La Niña.

Origin of El Niño

<Spanish: literally, the child, i.e., the Christ child, alluding to the appearance of the current near Christmas

Words nearby El Niño

El Misti, elm leaf beetle, Elmont, El Monte, Elmwood Park, El Niño, El Obeid, elocute, elocution, elodea, Elohim

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

How to use El Niño in a sentence

The period studied overlapped with fluctuations in the climate that may have played a significant role in the acceleration, including a strong El Niño event from 2014 to 2016, which led to unusually warm waters.
Earth is now trapping an ‘unprecedented’ amount of heat, NASA says|Tik Root|June 16, 2021|Washington Post
The El Niño phase was waning at the start of 2020, and a La Niña was starting, so the overall impact of this pattern was muted for the year.
2020 and 2016 tie for the hottest years on record|Carolyn Gramling|January 14, 2021|Science News
The year 2016 was marked by a particularly strong El Niño event, a weather pattern that generally contributes to warmer temperatures.
2020 Ties With 2016 for Warmest Year Ever Recorded|Aryn Baker|January 8, 2021|Time
Museum specimens also provided evidence that the virus had been circulating in Southwestern rodent populations for over a decade, and its emergence in humans was linked to El Niño climate cycles.
How fossil preservation and public health are intertwined|By Colella & McLean/The Conversation|December 18, 2020|Popular-Science

Both of these interact with the El Niño–Southern Oscillation.
How Earth’s Climate Changes Naturally (and Why Things Are Different Now)|Howard Lee|July 21, 2020|Quanta Magazine
El Bulli, for instance, previously named the best restaurant in the world, shuttered its doors after only a few decades.
Inside The World’s 10 Oldest Restaurants|Justin Jones|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 2010, La Rana Dorada followed in Istmo's footsteps and opened a brewpub in the neighborhood of El Congrejo.
House of the Witch: The Renegade Craft Brewers of Panama|Jeff Campagna|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
So, Schmidt followed the gold rush to the El Paso mountains and claimed an area of mining land.
The Mole Man’s Tunnel to Nowhere|Nina Strochlic|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“We are happy, as happy as before,” she said, according to El País.
Adiós to the Diva Duchess|Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
By Tuesday night, going through Bet El was no longer possible.
The Radicals Who Slaughtered a Synagogue|Creede Newton|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Elyon is the name of an ancient Phœnician god, slain by his son El, no doubt the “first-born of death” in Job xviii.
Solomon and Solomonic Literature|Moncure Daniel Conway
El Imparcial maintained that he was worthy of being honoured as a 19th century conquering hero.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
There is always in the background of my mind dread lest help should reach the enemy before we have done with Sedd-el-Bahr.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
However, even that may come to pass in the struggle for "el high life," of which some of the Spanish writers complain so bitterly.
Spanish Life in Town and Country|L. Higgin and Eugne E. Street
If they do so now it is an instance of the race for "el high life," of which the writer quoted above complains.
Spanish Life in Town and Country|L. Higgin and Eugne E. Street

British Dictionary definitions for El Niño

El Niño

/ (ɛl ˈniːnjəʊ) /

noun

meteorol a warming of the eastern tropical Pacific occurring every few years, which alters the weather pattern of the tropics

Word Origin for El Niño

C20: from Spanish: The Child, i.e. Christ, referring to its original occurrence at Christmas time

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 El Niño

El Niño

[ ĕl nēn′yō ]

A warming of the surface water of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, occurring every 4 to 12 years and causing unusual global weather patterns. An El Niño is said to occur when the trade winds that usually push warm surface water westward weaken, allowing the warm water to pool as far eastward as the western coast of South America. When this happens, the typical pattern of coastal upwelling that carries nutrients from the cold depths to the ocean surface is disrupted, and fish and plankton die off in large numbers. El Niño warming is associated with the atmospheric phenomenon known as the southern oscillation, and their combined effect brings heavy rain to western South American and drought to eastern Australia and Indonesia. El Niño also affects the weather in the United States, but not as predictably. Compare La Niña.

Cultural definitions for El Niño

El Niño

[ (neen-yoh) ]

A warming of the surface water of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, occurring every four to twelve years when cold water does not rise to the surface, causing unusual weather patterns. The warmer water kills fish and plankton, brings heavy rains to western South America, and causes drought in eastern Australia and Indonesia.