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monsoon

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The definition of a monsoon is a seasonal, intense wind that blows from the southwest from April to October and from the northeast at other time of the year in parts of Asia, creating heavy rainstorms.

(noun)

An example of a monsoon is a storm that causes heavy flooding and extreme wind damage.

See monsoon in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun

a seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and S Asia, blowing from the southwest from April to October, and from the northeast during the rest of the year
the season during which this wind blows from the southwest, characterized by heavy rains
any wind that reverses its direction seasonally or blows constantly between land and adjacent water

Origin: MDu monssoen < Port monção < Ar mausim, a time, a season

Related Forms:

monsoonal adjective

See monsoon in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun

A wind system that influences large climatic regions and reverses direction seasonally.
a. A wind from the southwest or south that brings heavy rainfall to southern Asia in the summer.
b. The rain that accompanies this wind.

Origin:

Origin: Obsolete Dutch monssoen

Origin: , from Portuguese monção

Origin: , from Arabic mawsim, season

Origin: , from wasama, to mark; see wsm in Semitic roots

Related Forms: