katabatic

[kat-uh-bat-ik]

adjective Meteorology.

(of a wind or air current) moving downward or down a slope.Compare anabatic(def 1).

Origin of katabatic

1915–20; < Greek katabatikós pertaining to going down, equivalent to kata- kata- + ba- (stem of baínein to go; see basis) + -tikos -tic

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

British Dictionary definitions for katabatic

katabatic

adjective

(of winds) blowing downhill through having become denser with cooling, esp at night when heat is lost from the earth's surfaceCompare anabatic

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

katabatic in Science

katabatic

[kăt′ə-băt′ĭk]

Relating to wind currents that blow down a gradient, especially down the slopes of a mountain or glacier. When air comes in contact with the cool surface of a glacier or the upper regions of a mountain or slope, the air cools, becomes dense, and blows downward. Katabatic winds are usually cool and are especially common at night in polar regions. Compare anabatic.