Cumulonimbus

//ˌkju.mjə.loʊˈnɪm.bəs// noun

noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A cloud with a tall structure and flat base, often associated with thunderstorms.

    "The one to the east (which at the moment seemed to be leaping straight out of the heart of a sinister slaty-purple patch of cumulonimbus) drained the Lake of the Hanging Glaciers; that to the west a desolate rock and ice-walled valley which was rimmed by some of the highest summits in the Selkirks."

  2. 2
    a dark cloud of great vertical extent charged with electricity; associated with thunderstorms wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
anvil cloudcumulonimbus cloudnimbocumulusstorm cloudthundercloud

Example

More examples

"Cumulonimbus are a dense and vertically developed cloud that produces thunderstorms. The cloud can bring heavy showers, hail, lightning, high winds and sometimes tornadoes."

Etymology

From Latin cumulus (“heap”) + nimbus (“cloud”).

Related phrases

cumulonimbus calvuscumulonimbus capillatuscumulonimbus flammagenituscumulonimbus incuscumulonimbus tuba

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.