Tornado Definition

tôr-nādō

tornadoes, tornados

noun

tornadoes, tornados

A violently whirling column of air, with wind speeds of about 100 to 300 miles per hour, extending downward from a cumulonimbus cloud, esp. in Australia and the central U.S.: usually appearing as a rapidly rotating, slender, funnel-shaped cloud and typically causing great destruction along its narrow path.

Webster's New World

In W Africa and the adjacent Atlantic, a severe thundersquall.

Webster's New World

Any whirlwind or hurricane.

Webster's New World

Before a thunderstorm forms, there is an area in the lower atmosphere of horizontal, spinning air caused by a change in wind direction and an increase in the wind’s speed along with an increase in height.

YourDictionary

When warm air rises, the atmosphere is considered unstable. When the air is cooler than the surrounding air, it will sink and the atmosphere is said to be stable.

YourDictionary

Synonyms:

Other Word Forms of Tornado

Noun

Singular:

tornado

Plural:

tornadoes, tornados

Origin of Tornado

Alteration (probably influenced by Spanish tornado turned) (past participle of tornar to turn) of Early Modern English ternado violent thunderstorm, hurricane from Spanish tronada thunderstorm from tronar to thunder from Latin tonāre (s)tenə- in Indo-European roots

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
From Spanish tronada (thunderstorm), from tronar (to thunder), from Latin tonare (to thunder), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tene- (to thunder). The 'o' and 'r' were reversed in English (metathesis) under influence of Spanish tornar (to twist, to turn), from Latin tornare (to turn).

From Wiktionary