tornado

Meaning

Noun

A violent wind in the form of a mobile, rapidly rotating, funnel cloud that has contacted the ground.

Verb

To sweep through something violently.

Synonyms

whirlwind

twister

cyclone

🌀

hurricane

waterspout

typhoon

dust devil

wind

crack

storm

crack cocaine

bad wind storm

hurricane a typhoon

landspout

eddy

sandstorm

twirl

vortex

whirl

whirlpool

windstorm

water spout

air

supertwister

Pronounced as (IPA)

/tɔː(ɹ)ˈneɪ.dəʊ/

Etymology

From earlier English ternado, attested since the 1550s as a nautical term for a windy thunderstorm. From Spanish tronada (“thunderstorm”), from tronar (“to thunder”), from Latin tonō (“to thunder”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂- (“to thunder”). The o and r were reversed in English (metathesis) under influence of Spanish tornar (“to twist, to turn”), from Latin tornō (“to turn”).

Sentences

It was as though a tornado raged in the room overhead .

We're not getting any tornado warnings on the radio .