storm cellar
3
4.1
- noun
- /stɔrm ˈsɛlɚ/
- US
:
refugio antitornado
- We need to get down to the storm cellar right now to stay safe from the tornado.
- go to the storm cellar
- storm cellar or basement
Examples
-
Look, we don't exactly have a storm cellar.
-
Julie, Karla, and Nancy approach the iron door to the underground storm cellar.
Fiction book (1998) -
We need to get down to the storm cellar right now!
-
Now does anybody have access to a storm cellar?
-
We're going to the storm cellar.
-
Everybody in the storm cellar!
-
Everyone had gone to the storm cellar.
Fiction book (1990) -
I figured we ought to have a storm cellar.
-
Dorothy, get in the storm cellar now, before it's too late!
-
With her arthritis, she probably couldn't walk down to the storm cellar in time.
Fiction book (2002)
Synonyms
149
1.6
An underground room for storing food, wine, or other items
1
7.2
An underground room where people stay safe during strong storms
1
8.4
A room under a building used to store food or drink
An underground room where people go to stay safe during a tornado
How Protective
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is a straightforward composition of 'storm' (severe weather) and 'cellar' (an underground room), i.e. an underground room used for shelter during storms. This noun–noun compounding follows common English patterns and is easily inferable by a B1 learner who knows both constituents.
Etymology
Storm cellar comes from the simple image of going down into a dark underground cellar when a storm hit. People would hide there to stay safe from strong winds or tornadoes, so today it means 'an underground shelter' for bad storms.