snowslide

especially British, snow-slip

[snoh-slahyd]

noun

1. an avalanche consisting largely or entirely of snow.

Word History and Origins

Origin of snowslide¹

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; snow + slide

Example Sentences

A spokeswoman for Chugach Powder Guides, which took the men on the excursion, told the Anchorage Daily News that witnesses had seen all three deploy their avalanche airbags, devices that inflate to help skiers stay on the surface of a snowslide.

Read more on BBC

The men, ages 23 and 32, were killed in the snowslide Thursday morning in the area of Lone Peak in the Wasatch Range southeast of the city, officials.

Read more on Seattle Times

An avalanche forecaster died in a snowslide he triggered while skiing in eastern Oregon this past week, officials said.

Read more on Seattle Times

There seemed to be no idea it didn’t try: a new paint job and graphics, a “giant Alpine snowslide” made of Fiberglass, a pirate training school for sea lions.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

And in Kaunertal a 62-year old man was killed by another snowslide.

Read more on Seattle Times

Related Words

• barrage 
• deluge 
• flood 
• landslide 
• torrent