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:
For Bay Area journalist Bojana Cvijic, “The Devils” began as grainy screenshots on her Tumblr dashboard and a low-quality “yet still awe-inspiring” torrent sent over by a friend.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2026
That was the case with hydraulic mining in the West, which involved aiming a torrent of water under high pressure to blast away soil and boulders to expose the underlying gold veins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
South Korea’s trade data, seen as a bellwether of AI demand, show few signs that the hunger for chips is ebbing as a torrent of investment in AI infrastructure continues.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 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
A torrent of water flushed away the greasy creature.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Though an uncensored director’s cut premiered in 2002, it was never formally released on home media, and “The Devils” remained difficult to find outside of low-quality, choppily edited releases and torrents for decades.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 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
Better that than listening to the torrents of stick about his team and the wounding chat about his head coach.
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2026
Spanish police published footage of flooded fields and torrents of water that were engulfing buildings and vehicles.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026
“Mum! Dad!” he yelled, but the wind and the rain and the torrents of the river tore his voice away like a scrap of tissue paper.
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
