weather

[ weth-er ]
See synonyms for: weatherweatheredweathering on Thesaurus.com
noun

  1. the state of the atmosphere with respect to wind, temperature, cloudiness, moisture, pressure, etc.

  2. a strong wind or storm or strong winds and storms collectively: We've had some real weather this spring.

  1. a weathercast: The radio announcer will read the weather right after the commercial.

  2. Usually weathers. changes or vicissitudes in one's lot or fortunes: She remained a good friend in all weathers.

verb (used with object)

  1. to expose to the weather; dry, season, or otherwise affect by exposure to the air or atmosphere: to weather lumber before marketing it.

  2. to discolor, disintegrate, or affect injuriously, as by the effects of weather: These crumbling stones have been weathered by the centuries.

  1. to bear up against and come safely through (a storm, danger, trouble, etc.): to weather a severe illness.

  2. Nautical. (of a ship, mariner, etc.) to pass or sail to the windward of: to weather a cape.

  3. Architecture. to cause to slope, so as to shed water.

verb (used without object)

  1. to undergo change, especially discoloration or disintegration, as the result of exposure to atmospheric conditions.

  2. to endure or resist exposure to the weather: a coat that weathers well.

  1. to go or come safely through a storm, danger, trouble, etc. (usually followed by through): It was a difficult time for her, but she weathered through beautifully.

Idioms about weather

  1. under the weather, Informal.

    • somewhat indisposed; ailing; ill.

    • suffering from a hangover.

    • more or less drunk: Many fatal accidents are caused by drivers who are under the weather.

Origin of weather

1
First recorded before 900; Middle English (noun), Old English weder; cognate with Dutch weder, German Wetter, Old Norse vethr

word story For weather

Weather and its (Germanic) kindred terms wind and window are derivatives of the very common, very complicated Proto-Indo-European root awe-, awē-, wē- “to blow.” The variant awe- is the source of Germanic wedram “storm, weather” (Old English weder, English weather ). The suffixed variant wēn- forms Latin ventum “wind,” and English wind and window.
Window is first recorded in Middle English in the first half of the 13th century. It comes from Old Norse vindauga “wind eye,” originally an opening in a gable or roof to release smoke and admit light. (The Old Norse word came into Old English before the initial w- became v- in literary Old Norse.)

Other words from weather

  • weath·er·er, noun

Words that may be confused with weather

Words Nearby weather

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use weather in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for weather

weather

/ (ˈwɛðə) /

noun

    • the day-to-day meteorological conditions, esp temperature, cloudiness, and rainfall, affecting a specific place: Compare climate (def. 1)

    • (modifier) relating to the forecasting of weather: a weather ship

  2. a prevailing state or condition

  1. make heavy weather

    • (of a vessel) to roll and pitch in heavy seas

    • (foll by of) to carry out with great difficulty or unnecessarily great effort

  2. under the weather informal

    • not in good health

    • intoxicated

adjective

  1. (prenominal) on or at the side or part towards the wind; windward: the weather anchor Compare lee (def. 4)

verb

  1. to expose or be exposed to the action of the weather

  2. to undergo or cause to undergo changes, such as discoloration, due to the action of the weather

  1. (intr) to withstand the action of the weather

  2. (when intr, foll by through) to endure (a crisis, danger, etc)

  3. (tr) to slope (a surface, such as a roof, sill, etc) so as to throw rainwater clear

  4. (tr) to sail to the windward of: to weather a point

Origin of weather

1
Old English weder; related to Old Saxon wedar, Old High German wetar, Old Norse vethr

Derived forms of weather

  • weatherability, noun
  • weatherer, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for weather

weather

[ wĕð′ər ]

  1. The state of the atmosphere at a particular time and place. Weather is described in terms of variable conditions such as temperature, humidity, wind velocity, precipitation, and barometric pressure. Weather on Earth occurs primarily in the troposphere, or lower atmosphere, and is driven by energy from the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. The average weather conditions of a region over time are used to define a region's climate.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for weather

weather

The daily conditions of the atmosphere in terms of temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind, and moisture.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Other Idioms and Phrases with weather

weather

In addition to the idiom beginning with weather

  • weather the storm

also see:

  • fair-weather friend
  • heavy going (weather)
  • keep a weather eye out
  • under the weather

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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