clear-air turbulence
1
8.4
- noun
- /klɪr ɛr ˈtɜr.bjʊ.ləns/
- Specialized
:
turbulencia en aire claro
- The flight was unexpectedly shaken by clear-air turbulence as it flew over the mountains.
Examples
-
What seems dangerous often is not—black snakes, for example, or clear-air turbulence.
Fiction book (1990) -
Pilots are trained to handle emergencies caused by clear-air turbulence during flights.
-
Clear-air turbulence would have the full weight of your body crashing into people around you and injuring them.
Blog text (16) -
Another approach, pursued by instrument builders in the astronomy community and their counterparts in the military, has been to design electro-optical systems that measure and undo the effects of clear-air turbulence in real time.
Academic text (1994) -
During the long journey, several passengers were startled by the sudden clear-air turbulence that jolted the plane.
Synonyms
44
4.8
Sudden, irregular air movement that shakes a plane
How Severe
- Specialized
1
8.4
- Specialized
44
4.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
clear-air + turbulence
The compound is fully compositional: 'clear-air' modifies 'turbulence', so the phrase literally denotes turbulence occurring in clear (cloudless) air. A B1 learner who knows 'clear', 'air', and 'turbulence' can readily infer this technical but transparent meaning.
Etymology
Clear-air turbulence comes from the simple image of rough air in a sky with no clouds: the words clear, air, and turbulence point to sudden shaking in otherwise clear sky that pilots cannot see. So, the name explains why it means 'sudden, hard-to-see air movement that can shake a plane'.