perfect storm

American  

noun

1. Meteorology. a very intense and powerful storm arising from the convergence of an unusual set of weather patterns.

   A dying Hurricane Grace delivered the immeasurable tropical energy needed to create the perfect storm.

2. a detrimental or calamitous situation or event arising from the powerful combined effect of a unique set of circumstances.

   a perfect storm battering corporate pension plans.

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perfect storm British  

noun

1. a combination of events which are not individually dangerous, but occurring together produce a disastrous outcome

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Etymology

Origin of perfect storm

First recorded in 1935–40 in meteorological sense; in 1997 for current sense, from The Perfect Storm, a nonfiction book by Sebastian Junger, U.S. journalist and author (born 1962)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

perfect storm

“When you’ve got competitive races, you’ve got a lot of money flowing into competitive races, and I think that perfect storm has helped enable a lot of new records to be shattered this election cycle.”

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 31, 2026

"You have a perfect storm that defies antibiotics."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 2026

A perfect storm is gathering over food prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026

Patrick told BBC Politics North that he blames a perfect storm of rising utility and wage prices, people's changing habits and major roadworks directly outside the pub, which began in the summer.

From BBC ● Oct. 16, 2026

The answer, as historians tell us, has to do with a perfect storm of place, time, personality, and luck: but it also has to do with his brilliance as an orator.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith

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