waterspout

[waw-ter-spout, wot-er-]

noun

1. Also called rainspout. a pipe running down the side of a building to carry away water from the gutter of the roof.

   Don’t expect the waterspouts to function effectively if the gutters are clogged with leaves and other debris.

2. a spout, duct, or the like, from which water is discharged.

   The extendable waterspout can be attached to a bucket, making a better watering can than any that we’ve tried.

3. Also called fair-weather waterspout. Meteorology.,  a funnel-shaped column laden with mist and spray that develops on the surface of a body of water and climbs upward to the cloud that has spawned it: usually formed during conditions of light winds, fair-weather waterspouts have little lateral movement and are not normally accompanied by thunderstorms.

4. Also called tornadic waterspout. Meteorology.,  a tornado that forms in a downward direction over a body of water, typically during a severe thunderstorm and often accompanied by high winds, dangerous water turbulence, and large hail: although tornadic waterspouts tend to dissipate rapidly upon landfall, they may occasionally move inland.

waterspout

/ ˈwɔːtəˌspaʊt /

noun

1. meteorol

   1. a tornado occurring over water that forms a column of water and mist extending between the surface and the clouds above

   2. a sudden downpour of heavy rain

2. a pipe or channel through which water is discharged, esp one used for drainage from the gutters of a roof

Word History and Origins

Origin of waterspout¹

First recorded in 1350–1400 and in 1730–40 waterspout for defs. 3, 4; Middle English; water, spout

Example Sentences

Holding it down causes waterspouts to spin up all around you, dancing on their tails, merging and splitting—the immersiveness comes courtesy of a speaker in the driver’s headrest.

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In Orange County, a possible tornado or waterspout moved ashore around 10:15 p.m.

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“Convective storms will bring increased risk of strong to locally damaging winds, lightning, small hail, and isolated waterspouts,” the weather service office in Oxnard said just before 2 p.m.

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Sometimes they form on land, or they begin as waterspouts — a tornado over the ocean — and move onto land.

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If one of these waterspouts hits the ship, the weight of the water could smash the deck & it will be all over.

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Related Words

• whirlpool