Storm
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /stÉ”Ëm/
- US IPA: /stɔɹm/
- Rhymes: -É”Ë(ɹ)m
Origin 1
From Middle English storm, from Old English storm ("a storm, tempest; a storm of arrows; disturbance, disquiet; uproar, tumult; rush, onrush, attack, violent attack"), from Proto-Germanic *sturmaz ("storm"), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)twer-, *(s)tur- ("to rotate, swirl, twirl, move around"). Cognate with Scots storm ("storm"), West Frisian stoarm ("storm"), Dutch storm ("storm"), Low German storm ("storm"), German Sturm ("storm"), Danish storm ("storm"), Swedish storm ("storm"), Icelandic stormur ("storm"). Related to stir.
Full definition of storm
Noun
storm
(plural storms)- Any disturbed state of the atmosphere, especially as affecting the earth's surface, and strongly implying destructive or unpleasant weather.
- ShakespeareWe hear this fearful tempest sing,
Yet seek no shelter to avoid the storm. - 2012-01, Donald Worster, A Drier and Hotter Future, Phoenix and Lubbock are both caught in severe drought, and it is going to get much worse. We may see many such dust storms in the decades ahead, along with species extinctions, radical disturbance of ecosystems, and intensified social conflict over land and water. Welcome to the Anthropocene, the epoch when humans have become a major geological and climatic force.
- A violent agitation of human society; a civil, political, or domestic commotion; violent outbreak.The proposed reforms have led to a political storm.
- ShakespeareHer sister
Began to scold and raise up such a storm. - (meteorology) a wind scale for very strong wind, stronger than a gale, less than a hurricane (10 or higher on the Beaufort scale).
- (military) A violent assault on a stronghold or fortified position.
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Origin 2
From Middle English stormen, sturmen, from Old English styrman ("to storm, rage; make a great noise, cry aloud, shout"), from Proto-Germanic *sturmijanan ("to storm"). Cognate with Dutch stormen ("to storm; bluster"), Low German stormen ("to storm"), German stürmen ("to storm; rage; attack; assault"), Swedish storma ("to storm; bluster"), Icelandic storma ("to storm").