tornado
tor-NAY-doh
/tɔːrˈneɪdoʊ/
A violently rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground.
A compact, extremely destructive, rapidly rotating funnel touching ground level; smaller geographically than a hurricane.
The story behind the word. 16th-century Spanish sailors combined 'tronada' (thunderstorm) with 'tornar' (to turn) to describe violent whirling storms at sea. English adapted this into 'tornado'.
Word relationships
- twister: Twister is an informal, colloquial synonym for tornado.
Commonly confused with
- hurricane: Tornadoes are hundreds of meters wide over land; hurricanes are hundreds of miles wide over water.
Word family
- tornadic (adjective): Associated with or producing a tornado.
Collocations
- tornado warning
- tornado alley
- tornado watch
- twister
Example sentences
- "The tornado touched down in the rural town, destroying several barns in a matter of minutes." Emergency broadcast summary
Memory hook
TORnadoes TORMENT and TORN up houses as they TURN. Spinning funnel touching ground.
When not to use
Do not confuse with large ocean-scale cyclonic storms like hurricanes or typhoons.
Fun facts
- The highest wind speeds ever directly measured on Earth occurred inside a tornado in Oklahoma: roughly 301 mph.
Related words
Explore more words
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