What does "avalanche" mean?
A large mass or body of snow and ice sliding swiftly down a mountain side, or falling down a precipice.
Avalanche
/ˈævəlɑːnʃ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A large mass or body of snow and ice sliding swiftly down a mountain side, or falling down a precipice.
- Grammar: avalanche is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: abundance, affluence, ample sufficiency, ampleness.
- Useful contrasts: calm, decrease, deplete.
- Usage evidence: As soon as you contact your friends, tell them that an avalanche is coming.
How to use "avalanche"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "avalanche" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "avalanche" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "avalanche" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "avalanche" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "avalanche" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "abundance" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "avalanche", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A large mass or body of snow and ice sliding swiftly down a mountain side, or falling down a precipice.
"They were drinking from a fountain / That was pouring like an avalanche / Coming down the mountain"
- 2 a sudden appearance of an overwhelming number of things wordnet
- 3 A fall of earth, rocks, etc., similar to that of an avalanche of snow or ice.
- 4 a slide of large masses of snow and ice and mud down a mountain wordnet
- 5 A sudden, great, or irresistible descent or influx; anything like an avalanche in suddenness and overwhelming quantity. broadly
"Yes, but she talked it away. She uses a whole language to herself. Her discourse is an avalanche of words, beneath which the hearers are overwhelmed."
Verb
- 1 To descend like an avalanche. intransitive
"Whenever the stage stopped to change horses, we would wake up, and try to recollect where we were—[…] We began to get into country, now, threaded here and there with little streams. These had high, steep banks on each side, and every time we flew down one bank and scrambled up the other, our party inside got mixed somewhat. First we would all be down in a pile at the forward end of the stage, nearly in a sitting posture, and in a second we would shoot to the other end, and stand on our heads. […] ¶ Every time we avalanched from one end of the stage to the other, the Unabridged Dictionary would come too; and every time it came it damaged somebody."
- 2 gather into a huge mass and roll down a mountain, of snow wordnet
- 3 To come down upon; to overwhelm. transitive
"The shelf broke and the boxes avalanched the workers."
- 4 To propel downward like an avalanche. transitive
"When our artist and I were dropped down our first coal-mine, we felt a leetle bit anxious. It was something new. But we have been avalanched down the incline from Peak Forest, and boomeranged round the sudden curve at Rowsley, and have run the gauntlet at Penistone and King’s Cross without ever taking the precaution to say “God help us.”"
Example
"As soon as you contact your friends, tell them that an avalanche is coming."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "avalanche"?
Common synonyms include: abundance, affluence, ample sufficiency, ampleness, amplitude, blizzard.
How do you use "avalanche" in a sentence?
As soon as you contact your friends, tell them that an avalanche is coming.
How do you pronounce "avalanche"?
Pronounced /ˈævəlɑːnʃ/.
Etymology
From French avalanche, from Franco-Provençal (Savoy) avalançhe, blend of aval (“downhill”) and standard lavençhe, from Vulgar Latin *labanka (compare Occitan lavanca, Italian valanga), of uncertain origin, perhaps an alteration of Late Latin lābīna (“landslide”) (compare Franco-Provençal (Dauphiné) lavino, Romansch lavina), from Latin lābēs, from lābor (“to slip, slide”).