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• roaring forties
  roaring forties

  plural noun

  either of two areas in the ocean between 40° and 50° N or S latitude, noted for high winds and rough seas.
• Roaring Forties
  Roaring Forties

  plural noun

  nautical the areas of ocean between 40° and 50° latitude in the S Hemisphere, noted for gale-force winds

roaring forties

American  

plural noun

1. either of two areas in the ocean between 40° and 50° N or S latitude, noted for high winds and rough seas.

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Roaring Forties British  

plural noun

1. nautical the areas of ocean between 40° and 50° latitude in the S Hemisphere, noted for gale-force winds

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Etymology

Origin of roaring forties

First recorded in 1875–80

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

roaring forties Roaring Forties

The roaring forties describes the area between the latitudes 40 and 50 south of the equator - notorious for strong winds.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2023

She adds: "We are on the edge of the roaring forties, we are just a small rock in the middle of the south Atlantic, so we do have some pretty extreme weather."

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2023

But whether you are a squeamish voyager among books or so hardened that the roaring forties seem like the doldrums, this book will be a portent and a welcome one.

From Time Magazine Archive

The bark County of Pembroke was running her easting down in the roaring forties off the Cape of Good Hope when she shipped a monstrous sea over the lee rail.

From Time Magazine Archive

In the long voyages between England and Australia, and in the Indian trade, the ships of England set their sails to catch the roaring forties both going and coming.

From Earth and Sky Every Child Should Know Easy studies of the earth and the stars for any time and place by Julia Ellen Rogers

An example is the westerly wind belt that runs between 40 and 50 degrees latitude, known as the Roaring Forties, including the southern Indian Ocean.

From Washington Times ● Jul. 16, 2019

A knockdown in the Roaring Forties about 400 miles south of the Cape of Good Hope damaged the self-steering.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 19, 2019

During the second leg — from Cape Town, through raucous seas whipped up by rocketing winds known as the Roaring Forties, to Sydney, Australia — all the boats were savagely battered.

From New York Times ● May 10, 2016

The fleet is currently deep in the South Atlantic, midway between Brazil and their eventual destination Cape Town, in the notorious high-wind Roaring Forties.

From Reuters ● Nov. 1, 2014

In December they reached the Roaring Forties of the North Atlantic and groped their way, close hauled, in the teeth of the gales.

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

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