torrent
Americannoun
-
torrents
plural
adjective
noun
-
a fast, voluminous, or violent stream of water or other liquid
-
an overwhelming flow of thoughts, words, sound, etc
-
computing a file that controls the transfer of data in a BitTorrent system See BitTorrent
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of torrent
1595–1605; < Latin torrent- (stem of torrēns ) seething, literally, burning, present participle of torrēre to burn, parch; see torrid, -ent
Explanation
A torrent is a heavy rain, or the flooding or wildly-running streams it causes, like the torrent that soaks everyone unlucky enough to be out on the street at that moment. Because the noun torrent literally means "rushing stream," it often describes fast-flowing water, like a rainstorm or creeks and rivers that overflow their banks. But the word can also describe any sudden inundation, like a deluge of words or thoughts, like when, in anger, you unleash a torrent of emotional words on your friend. Like a violent storm, you pour those words, not letting up in order to let him or her explain the other side of the story.
Vocabulary lists containing torrent
A Long Walk to Water
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List 5
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"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
But those weren’t enough to offset the torrent of losses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
In the southern port city of Ashdod, the artist behind the mural of Abraham and Szor unleashed a torrent of insults at the filmmakers, who are currently abroad.
From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026
Elliptical, digressing, self-interrupting, parenthesizing, Herzen wrote as he spoke, in a torrent of ideas, reminiscences, and literary and historical allusions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Jackie died last month after a weeks-long battle with a mysterious illness, setting off a torrent of heart-wrenching tributes and messages from her devoted fans who hailed from around the globe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026
From her mouth issued a torrent of words, a roiling sermon on injustice, inequality, and divine retribution worthy of the Baptist preachers of her youth.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Los Angeles County uses a network of 27 spreading grounds, where artificial basins fill up when storms send torrents cascading down from the mountains into the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 26, 2026
Like the groves and gardens, houses built foolhardily near the dry summertime river risked being pulled off their foundations and washed away by the winter torrents.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
The exact sequence of events is still unclear, but on Wednesday morning, torrents of water and debris crashed downstream on both sides of the border.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
He starts gently behind Mr. Blanchard, whose goal of building toward a climax is well-served as Blakey grows gradually more animated, ending in torrents of stickwork and declarative bass-drum kicks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025
During the day the soldiers walked through the torrents in the streets with their pant legs rolled up, playing with boats with the children.
From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
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.
