hurricane

noun · verb

Simple meaning

A severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

huruhkayn

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈhɝəkeɪn

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

A severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale)
A severe tropical cyclone; an intense storm rotating around a central eye.
in particularmeteorology
A severe tropical cyclone in the North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, or in the eastern North Pacific off the west coast of Mexico, with winds of 119 km/h (74 miles per hour) or greater accompanied by rain, lightning, and thunder that sometimes moves into temperate latitudes.
figurative
A great forceful onrush.
A number of places in the United States

verb

ambitransitiveof the weather
To be violent, with winds of 119 km/h (74 miles per hour) or greater, usually accompanied by rain, lightning, and thunder.
To move noisily, quickly, and dramatically, becoming the center of attention.
To attempt to accomplish a great deal with a frenzied effort.
To swirl quickly and violently.
To tear apart in a violent, destructive, and/or chaotic manner.
To storm excessivly; to fume and rage violently.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: B1 · Intermediate
Frequency: Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving at 63-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale)

Used this way, hurricane is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Moderate
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use hurricane

“The weather forecast warned of a strong hurricane approaching the coast.”

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Severe

hurricane deckhurricane center

Great

hurricane force

Other combinations

hurricane lamphurricane andrewhurricane seasonnational hurricanegreat hurricane

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

hurricane decknounCompound term
A deck at the top of a passenger ship.
hurricane lampnounCompound term
An oil lamp with a glass chimney and perforated metal lid to protect the flame from high winds.
hurricane lanternnounCompound term
An oil lamp with a glass chimney and perforated metal lid to protect the flame from high winds.
hurricane roofnounCompound term
A deck at the top of a passenger ship.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.