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harmattan

American  
[hahr-muh-tan] / ˌhɑr məˈtæn /

noun

  1. (on the west coast of Africa) a dry, parching land breeze, charged with dust.

harmattan British  
/ hɑːˈmætən /

noun

  1. a dry dusty wind from the Sahara blowing towards the W African coast, esp from November to March

"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

Etymology

Origin of harmattan

1665–75; said to be < Twi haramata

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.

We’ll have the silvery sea that is imperceptible from its upstairs neighbor, the sky — especially when the dry, dusty winds of the harmattan season are blowing.

From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2022

There is no horizon, just a haze of sand whipped up by the hot, harmattan winds blowing from the Sahara Desert.

From Science Magazine • Apr. 6, 2017

It was a cold and dry harmattan morning in December.

From Time • Nov. 16, 2016

I was walking to my uncle's house on a road baked and cracked by the harmattan.

From The Guardian • Apr. 19, 2013

Our furniture was lifeless: the glass tables did not shed twisted skin in the harmattan, the leather sofas’ greeting was a clammy coldness, the Persian rugs were too lush to have any feeling.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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.