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.
“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
As if Southern California hasn’t seen enough wild weather, a new storm is moving in just in time for Halloween.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
Mr. Berg stages a harrowing companion piece to the D-Day invasion depicted in “Saving Private Ryan” as the men storm Tarawa Atoll.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 29, 2026
They said the firm had "reduced spills from storm overflows by 17% last year alone, with spill duration down by 25%, and we have insourced over 40 new leakage specialists".
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
I could hear the big red oaks around our home fighting back at the storm.
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Earlier in October a Kelvin wave and strengthened tides due to Tropical Storm Rachel brought flooding to multiple beach communities.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
This week, Chancellor John Healey delivered his first Budget, Storm Boelo tore across the UK, and Brazil, Israel and Serbia held elections.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
“You know, sometimes doors open and I just walk through them and go, ‘Why not?’” said King, who spearheads the candy project and founded Storm King Productions and Comics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026
Around 90,000 properties are still without power as parts of Scotland and north England were battered by Storm Boelo over the weekend.
From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026
Storm knew I would feel bad, and he did the only thing he could do.
From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen
Residents say they still experience outages during heavy storms, as Laos's own electricity infrastructure is outdated and the state utility is heavily in debt.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2026
Powerful storms, landslides, and other extreme events can bend or displace trees, making the capacity to regain an appropriate posture essential for their resilience.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 1, 2026
The current settled spell marks quite a contrast to the turbulent conditions experienced just a week ago, when the UK was hit by its first named storms of the season, Austen and Bóelo.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2026
"Those are the storms we face. We can't wish them away. We must choose the course we steer through them," he told MPs.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026
Rooted, in spite of the storms and the ice.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
Late Monday, dozens of people, including the mother of a Novi Sad disaster victim, stormed Informer's premises and disrupted its broadcast.
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
On Jan. 6, 2021, a mob stormed the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 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
She stormed out of the kitchen, leaving the pancakes burning on the griddle.
From "Keep It Together, Keiko Carter" by Debbi Michiko Florence
Only rarely do the dignified characters allow their emotions to come storming out.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
"We're taking the Bastille," one demonstrator shouted in Marseille as masked protesters rammed the door of the mayor's offices with security barriers, in reference to the 1789 storming of a fortress during the French Revolution.
From Barron's ● Oct. 17, 2026
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
Back then, at a vote held in Kigali, Rwanda, the support for him was so overwhelming that he was ushered back into office by acclaim, with a storming round of applause replacing a formal vote.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
I look up to see a wall of black and gold storming toward us.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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