whirlwind
9
4.0
- noun
- /ˈwɜːrəlˌwɪnd/
:
torbellino
- The wind increased now, spinning up little whirlwinds of sand that broke apart on his boots.
- whirlwind of dust
- a whirlwind tour
- reap the whirlwind
Planet becoming muddied, the weather a whirlwind.
- Planet becoming muddied, the weather a whirlwind.
- The people fly past and Mama runs to look and she stares and peers and the people will not stop flying past like the whirlwind, like the hurricane.
Examples
-
The flaming whirlwind stood like a torch against the night, dwarfing Zozobra.
Fiction book (1994) -
The dust and debris were picked up and sent swirling into the air by the whirlwind that suddenly appeared.
-
There's a whirlwind out there.
-
Above the island, high in the stratosphere, a white whirlwind appeared.
Fiction book (1998) -
Then, a whirlwind kicks up, sending everyone off the dance floor, as the whirlwind becomes a tornado.
Fiction book (1997) -
Alton Corbett's room was the mess a whirlwind leaves behind.
Fiction book (1991) -
Then a whirlwind of dead leaves blew noisily across the yard, and I dropped the lettuce spinner.
Fiction book (2001) -
The lab is hopelessly cluttered, as if a whirlwind had swept inside and thrown everything helter-skelter.
Fiction book (1993) -
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.
-
As the storm approached, a small whirlwind formed in the field, lifting leaves and twigs high into the sky.
Synonyms
81
7.2
A spinning mass of air or water that pulls things toward its center
9
6.7
A small whirl of water or air that turns back from the main flow
A fast spinning column of air that lifts dust or leaves
Compounds
- Informal
1
4.1
A busy time when many things happen quickly and in a confused way
How Strong
Surface Forms
Morphology
Etymology
Whirlwind comes from whirl ('to spin') and wind ('moving air'), so it literally means 'spinning wind' and describes a tall, spinning column of air that can lift leaves and dust.