noun

avalanche

A-vuh-lahnsh

noun

A large mass of snow and ice that suddenly breaks loose and slides down a mountainside.

"The skiers had to be rescued after an avalanche blocked the only path down."

A sudden, overwhelming amount of something arriving all at once.

"The announcement triggered an avalanche of complaints from customers."

verb

To come down or arrive suddenly and overwhelmingly, like an avalanche.

"Messages avalanched into her inbox after the story went viral."

How to Use Avalanche

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA sudden slide of snow — or, more loosely, a sudden flood of something (complaints, requests, news).

Common pairings

trigger an avalanche avalanche of criticism caught in an avalanche

avalanched past tense, avalanches plural, avalanches singular

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The skiers had to be rescued after an _____ blocked the only path down.

From French avalanche, blending a regional word for "downhill" with an older term for a landslide, ultimately from Latin labor, "to slip or slide."

Blanche Comanche