cyclone cellar
1
7.2
- noun
- /ˈsaɪkloʊn ˈsɛlər/
- Australian
:
refugio contra ciclones
- In preparation for storm season, they reinforced their cyclone cellar to ensure it could withstand high winds.
Examples
-
There was no cellar, except a small hole dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose, mighty enough to crush any building in its path.
-
There was no garret at all, and no cellar, except a small hole dug in the ground, called a cyclone cellar, where the family could go in case one of those great whirlwinds arose, mighty enough to crush any building in its path.
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When the storm warning was issued, everyone rushed to the cyclone cellar for safety.
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The family's cyclone cellar was equipped with supplies to last through the worst of the storm.
Synonyms
149
1.6
An underground room for storing food, wine, or other items
3
4.1
An underground place where people go to stay safe during very strong storms like tornadoes
An underground room where people go to stay safe during a tornado
A man-made shelter that protects people from bad weather or attack
How Safe
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and compositionally derivable from 'cyclone' (a severe storm) + 'cellar' (an underground room), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer an underground shelter for cyclones/storms. This follows regular English compounding patterns (cf. 'storm cellar') and is cross-linguistically transparent, making the expression immediately comprehensible.
Etymology
Cyclone cellar comes from joining the word cyclone, a very strong storm, and cellar, an underground room. People built these underground rooms to hide from strong winds and flying debris, so cyclone cellar now means an underground shelter for 'safety' during storms.