windstorm
Americannoun
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windstorms
plural
noun
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A storm with high winds or violent gusts but little or no rain. Winds with speeds up to 241 km (149 mi) per hour have been recorded during windstorms.
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See also tornado
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of windstorm
Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at wind 1, storm
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:
He and Gombu left the last camp in the middle of a windstorm, with a scant supply of oxygen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 8, 2026
This latest windstorm brought gusts from the north to northeast; in a typical Santa Ana wind event, they come from the east to northeast, said weather service meteorologist Rose Schoenfeld.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025
Storm Éowyn in January 2025 was the strongest windstorm for over a decade.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
Google said Monday it is partnering with NextEra Energy to reopen the Duane Arnold Energy Center, a nuclear plant that closed five years ago after damage from a windstorm.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025
“Who wouldn’t want to be out on the ocean in a windstorm at two in the morning?”
From "Adrift" by Paul Griffin
Spring windstorms, heat and dry air can accelerate the plants’ life cycle or prevent new flowers from developing.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 10, 2026
Natural beauty is one of the great draws of Altadena, but the risk of windstorms, wildfires and floods is part of the bargain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025
Scientists are more confident that the coastal impacts of windstorms, from storm surges and high waves, will worsen as sea-levels rise.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2025
Scientists are more confident that the coastal impacts of windstorms, from storm surges and high waves will worsen as sea-levels rise.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2025
Flaws and irregularities told how the trees endured fires and lightning strikes and windstorms and infestations and yet continued to grow.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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.
