hurricane

[hur-i-keyn, huhr- or, esp. British, -kuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hurricane ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a violent, tropical, cyclonic storm of the western North Atlantic, having wind speeds of or in excess of 72 miles per hour (32 m/sec).Compare tropical cyclone, typhoon.

a storm of the most intense severity.

anything suggesting a violent storm.

(initial capital letter) Military. a single-seat British fighter plane of World War II, fitted with eight .303 caliber machine guns and with a top speed in excess of 300 miles per hour (480 km/h).

Origin of hurricane

1545–55; < Spanish huracán < Taino hurakán

Can be confusedcyclone hurricane tidal wave tornado tsunami typhoon

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for hurricane

gale, tornado, storm, cyclone, twister, monsoon, blow, typhoon, tempest, whirlwind

Examples from the Web for hurricane

Contemporary Examples of hurricane

The absent turkey had been blown clean away in the hurricane force winds, I concluded.
Confessions of a Turkey Killer
Tom Sykes
November 26, 2014
Leaving the moribund Eddie, Frank crosses paths with a black deliveryman, and they talk about hurricane survivors.
Richard Ford’s Artful Survivalist Guide: The Return of Frank Bascombe
Tom LeClair
November 4, 2014
Ann is only one of many “hurricane conspirators” who believe the storm has changed everything.
Richard Ford’s Artful Survivalist Guide: The Return of Frank Bascombe
Tom LeClair
November 4, 2014
Inhofe said the two disasters were different because the hurricane drew so many moochers.
If You Think D.C. Is Awful Now, Wait Until Wednesday
Jonathan Alter
November 4, 2014
Four years later, when Hurricane Katrina hit, 80 percent of the city went underwater, at an average level of four feet.
New Orleans’ Carnivalesque Day of the Dead
Jason Berry
November 1, 2014

Historical Examples of hurricane

The rain, falling in a deluge, was driven by a wind like a hurricane.
The Rock of Chickamauga
Joseph A. Altsheler
The wind swelled to a hurricane, and the rain dashed like a flood against the glass.
Maid Marian
Thomas Love Peacock
If the hurricane swept away our tent, I dont know where we should find it again.
The Field of Ice
Jules Verne
It was like a hurricane of delirium rushing by and laying every head in the dust.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
The hurricane, the most furious ever felt in the province, lasted three days.
The History of Louisiana
Le Page Du Pratz

British Dictionary definitions for hurricane

hurricane

noun

a severe, often destructive storm, esp a tropical cyclone

a wind of force 12 or above on the Beaufort scale
(as modifier)a wind of hurricane force

anything acting like such a wind

Word Origin for hurricane

C16: from Spanish huracán, from Taino hurakán, from hura wind

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

Word Origin and History for hurricane

1550s, a partially deformed adoptation from Spanish huracan (Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo y Valdés, "Historia General y Natural de las Indias," 1547-9), furacan (in the works of Pedro Mártir De Anghiera, chaplain to the court of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella and historian of Spanish explorations), from an Arawakan (W. Indies) word. In Portuguese, it became furacão. For confusion of initial -f- and -h- in Spanish, see hacienda. The word is first in English in Richard Eden's "Decades of the New World":

These tempestes of the ayer (which the Grecians caule Tiphones ...) they caule furacanes.

OED records 39 different spellings, mostly from the late 16c., including forcane, herrycano, harrycain, hurlecane. Modern form became frequent from 1650, established after 1688. Shakespeare uses hurricano ("King Lear," "Troilus and Cressida"), but in reference to waterspouts.

hurricane in Science

hurricane

[hûr′ĭ-kān′]

A severe, rotating tropical storm with heavy rains and cyclonic winds exceeding 74 mi (119 km) per hour, especially such a storm occurring in the Northern Hemisphere. Hurricanes originate in the tropical parts of the Atlantic Ocean or the Caribbean Sea and move generally northward. They lose force when they move over land or colder ocean waters. See Note at cyclone.

hurricane in Culture

hurricane

A large tropical storm system with high-powered circular winds. (See cyclone and eye of a hurricane.)

Note

Between July and October, hurricanes cause extensive damage along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. (See Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.)