noun
cyclone
SEYE-klohn
noun
1
A large storm system with winds rotating around a centre of low atmospheric pressure.
"The cyclone made landfall with winds of over 150 miles an hour."
"Coastal residents were evacuated ahead of the approaching cyclone."
2
A tropical storm of this kind, especially one occurring in the Indian Ocean or South Pacific.
"Cyclone season in the region typically runs from November to April."
How to Use Cyclone
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA rotating storm system; the same kind of storm is called a hurricane in the Atlantic and a typhoon in the northwest Pacific.
Common mistake
Cyclone, hurricane, and typhoon all describe the same weather phenomenon — the name used just depends on where in the world it forms.
Easily confused with
Word Forms
cycloned past tense, cyclones plural, cyclones singular
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The _____ made landfall with winds of over 150 miles an hour.
Etymology
Coined in the 1840s, probably by meteorologist Henry Piddington, from an Ancient Greek root related to kuklos ("circle") or kukloo ("to encircle") — the same family as "cycle" and "wheel."