typhoon

The word “typhoon” means a powerful tropical storm that forms over the northwestern Pacific Ocean, equivalent to a hurricane elsewhere. In plain terms, the name used for a hurricane-strength storm when it occurs in the northwest Pacific.

“Typhoon” is pronounced teye-FOON (/taɪˈfun/ in IPA).

Here is “typhoon” used in a sentence: “The typhoon knocked out power across the island for days.”

“Typhoon” is a noun.

The word “typhoon” comes from Arabic. The word likely traces back to an Arabic term for a violent storm, itself possibly rooted in a Chinese phrase for "big wind," and was reshaped in English under the influence of an old Greek word for whirlwind.

“Typhoon” is an uncommon word in modern English.

A typhoon and a hurricane are the same type of storm, a powerful tropical cyclone, but the name depends on where it forms. Typhoon is used for storms over the northwestern Pacific Ocean, while hurricane is used for equivalent storms in the Atlantic and northeastern Pacific.

Cyclone is the general term used for these storms in the South Pacific and Indian Ocean, while typhoon is the specific regional name for the same kind of storm in the northwestern Pacific. All three terms, typhoon, hurricane, and cyclone, describe the same meteorological phenomenon in different regions.

Since a typhoon is equivalent to a hurricane elsewhere, they are generally powerful tropical storms of comparable intensity and structure. Regional weather agencies may use their own naming and category systems, but the underlying storm type is the same.