Definition of TORNADO

tornado

Plural: tornadoes, tornados

Noun

  • A violent, rotating column of air extending from a thunderstorm to the ground.
  • a localized and violently destructive windstorm occurring over land characterized by a funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground
  • a purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted; highly addictive
  • A violent wind in the form of a mobile, rapidly rotating, funnel cloud that has contacted the ground.

Verb

  • To sweep through something violently.

Examples

  • The game took a TORNADO-like turn when he played a word spanning three bonus squares.

Origin / Etymology

From earlier English ternado, attested since the 1550s as a nautical term for a windy thunderstorm. From Spanish tronada (“thunderstorm”), from tronar (“to thunder”), from Latin tonō (“to thunder”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂- (“to thunder”). The o and r were reversed in English (metathesis) under influence of Spanish tornar (“to twist, to turn”), from Latin tornō (“to turn”).

Synonyms

crack, crack cocaine, twister

Scrabble Score: 8

tornado: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
tornado: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
tornado: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 9

tornado: valid Words With Friends Word