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)

Example Sentences

Fifty years ago, the U.S. was hit by a perfect storm of negative events that shook the nation’s economic foundations to the core.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 24, 2026

"It was a bit of a perfect storm."

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026

“It was like a perfect storm of buyers trying to get in, and maybe get a little bit of a lower rate, and sellers not putting their homes up,” he says.

From Barron's • Mar. 4, 2026

"It's kind of like a perfect storm," Williams said.

From Science Daily • Mar. 2, 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