a disturbance of the normal condition of the atmosphere, manifesting itself by winds of unusual force or direction, often accompanied by rain, snow, hail, thunder, and lightning, or flying sand or dust.
a heavy fall of rain, snow, or hail, or a violent outbreak of thunder and lightning, unaccompanied by strong winds.
Also called violent storm. Meteorology. a wind of 64–72 miles per hour (29–32 meters per second).
a violent military assault on a fortified place, strong position, or the like.
a heavy or sudden volley or discharge.
a storm of criticism; a storm of bullets.
a violent disturbance of affairs, as a civil, political, social, or domestic commotion.
a violent outburst or outbreak of expression.
a storm of applause.
Informal. storm window.
(of the wind or weather) to blow with unusual force, or to rain, snow, hail, etc., especially with violence (usually used impersonally with it as subject).
It stormed all day.
to rage or complain with violence or fury.
He stormed angrily at me.
to deliver a violent attack or fire, as with artillery.
The troops stormed against the garrison.
to rush to an assault or attack.
The tanks stormed towards the city.
to rush angrily.
to storm out of a room.
to subject to or as if to a storm.
The salesman stormed them with offers.
to utter or say with angry vehemence.
The strikers stormed their demands.
to attack or assault (persons, places, or things).
to storm a fortress.
a violent weather condition of strong winds, rain, hail, thunder, lightning, blowing sand, snow, etc
( as modifier )
storm signal
storm sail
( in combination )
stormproof
meteorol a violent gale of force 10 on the Beaufort scale reaching speeds of 55 to 63 mph
a strong or violent reaction
a storm of protest
a direct assault on a stronghold
a heavy discharge or rain, as of bullets or missiles
short for storm window
US equivalent: tempest in a teapot. a violent fuss or disturbance over a trivial matter
to capture or overrun by a violent assault
to overwhelm and enthral
to attack or capture (something) suddenly and violently
(intr) to be vociferously angry
(intr) to move or rush violently or angrily
(intr; with it as subject) to rain, hail, or snow hard and be very windy, often with thunder or lightning
A low-pressure atmospheric disturbance resulting in strong winds accompanied by rain, snow, or other precipitation and often by thunder and lightning.
A wind with a speed from 103 to 117 km (64 to 73 mi) per hour, rating 11 on the Beaufort scale.
First recorded before 900; (noun) Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch storm, German Sturm, Old Norse stormr; (verb) Middle English stormen, derivative of the noun (compare obsolete sturme, Middle English sturmen, Old English styrman, denominative verb from the same Germanic base as storm ); akin to stir 1
A storm is what happens when the earth's atmosphere is disturbed. If the weather report says that a storm is on the way, you might want to carry an umbrella — or just stay at home and watch movies. Storms range from the windstorm that blows branches off your tree to the snowstorm that buries your neighborhood under two feet of the white stuff. It's a verb too: "It began to storm outside, and the rain beat down on the windows." Figuratively, you might even storm angrily: "My sister was so mad that she stormed around her room, kicking things." Something controversial can also cause a figurative storm, or uproar.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"Isaias will be a dangerous hurricane with significant storm surge, damaging winds, and flooding rains when it reaches the northern Gulf Coast," the NHC said.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
Crude oil prices jumped as a storm nears.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
"Which is why we're investing £11m at our storm overflows to reduce spills to fewer than 20 a year by 2030," it added.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
Perhaps the only thing that could stop it is a fierce winter storm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2026
The storm had raised Cain in the thick timber of the river bottoms.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Oil companies operating in the Gulf of Mexico have begun curbing production and evacuating personnel from offshore facilities as the region braces for Tropical Storm Isaias.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Meanwhile Tropical Storm Rachel is paralleling Mexico's Pacific coast and is forecast to strengthen into a major hurricane by Thursday.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
Nearly 150 homes in an Angus town which were devastated by Storm Babet almost three years ago are to be demolished.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
President George H. W. Bush avoided over-managing Desert Storm; instead, he left its direction to learned military leaders.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 23, 2026
Storm clouds writhed about its flanks; a deep, windless cold flowed from its summit; unimaginably high, it pierced the sky: the Mountain of the World Spirit.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
The strategy worked for countless previous storms but unfortunately not the latest one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
“Winter storms that limit solar power can also significantly limit the output of wind generation if high wind speeds force plant operators to shut down in order to protect equipment.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026
However, “if there are storms forecasted or a high tide coming up, that is when the Kelvin wave could exacerbate damages.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
With a very strong El Niño forecast, the US National Hurricane Center in May predicted a total of eight to 14 named storms.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
But the winds continued contrary so long that we were forced to stay there some time, where we suffered great storms.
From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone
A new round of protests was under way Thursday, including a large gathering at Place de la Bastille, the site of the prison that was stormed and torn down in the French Revolution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Shares of Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and other hardware companies stormed higher on Monday in a show of intense investor appetite for the artificial-intelligence trade.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
On the very day they saw the footage, a group of Buam-dong residents stormed into the museum, accompanied by four police officers.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
That night some of them stormed a major highway, closing lanes of traffic to demand a response from state authorities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Then the woman herself stormed in, flushed with annoyance, with one side of her hair put up and the other still hanging loose about her shoulders.
From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood
Shares of Intel, Advanced Micro Devices and other hardware stocks were storming higher on Monday in a show of intense investor appetite for the artificial-intelligence trade.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026
Still, though it wakes up when we get to the storming of the Bastille, economically but effectively rendered, and, later the Reign of Terror, in between it can turn into a murky, mopey slog.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026
Another potential scenario, Shpaizman said, is one resembling the storming of the US Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021, as they tried to stop certification of his election defeat.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Amy Hunt claimed her first senior international title by storming to 100m glory and delivering Great Britain's first gold medal at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
The story of Aunt Melissa storming out of the chapel right before the vows is legendary.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
