water cycle

British  

noun

1. Also called: hydrologic cycle.  the circulation of the earth's water, in which water evaporates from the sea into the atmosphere, where it condenses and falls as rain or snow, returning to the sea by rivers or returning to the atmosphere by evapotranspiration

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water cycle Scientific  

1. See hydrologic cycle

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

water cycle

“Because of climate change, it is impacting the way the water cycle is behaving.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 15, 2026

This setup allowed the team to evaluate how individual models handled water cycle physics and to compare the combined ensemble average with real-world climate observations.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 15, 2026

These problems are compounded by climate change, which is upending the water cycle and bringing more severe droughts and floods.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 21, 2026

There are little bits all through that kind of hint at a water cycle.

From Salon ● May 28, 2025

For example, urban hydrology—precisely what happens to the water cycle during various kinds of development, and how it might be adjusted—is a relatively new branch of study and still needs much research.

From The Nation's River A report on the Potomac from the U.S. Department of the Interior by United States. Dept. of the Interior.