What does "cyclone" mean?
Any weather phenomenon consisting of a system of winds rotating around a centre of low atmospheric pressure; a low pressure system.
Cyclone
/ˈsaɪ.kloʊn/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any weather phenomenon consisting of a system of winds rotating around a centre of low atmospheric pressure; a low pressure system.
- Grammar: cyclone is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: air mass, anticyclone, baguio, blaze.
- Useful contrasts: anticyclone, anticyclones, high pressure system.
- Usage evidence: The eye of the cyclone is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of thunderstorms where the most severe weather occurs.
How to use "cyclone"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cyclone" 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 "cyclone" 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 "cyclone" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cyclone" 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 "cyclone" is acting as noun, verb, slang 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 "air mass" 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 "cyclone", 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 Any weather phenomenon consisting of a system of winds rotating around a centre of low atmospheric pressure; a low pressure system. broadly
"Near-synonym: storm"
- 2 a violent rotating windstorm wordnet
- 3 A tropical cyclone occurring in the South Pacific or Indian Ocean. specifically
"Near-synonyms: typhoon, hurricane"
- 4 (meteorology) rapid inward circulation of air masses about a low pressure center; circling counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the southern wordnet
- 5 The more or less violent, small-scale circulations such as tornadoes, waterspouts, and dust devils. informal
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A strong wind. informal
- 7 A cyclone separator; the cylindrical vortex tube within such a separator
Verb
- 1 To separate using a cyclone separator.
"The product is cycloned and overflow at 45-50% solids is pumped to primary flotation where 50-70% of the copper is removed as a 21% concentrate."
- 2 To storm as a cyclone.
"What difference if it rained, hailed, blew, snowed, cycloned?"
- 3 To whirl in spirals as a result of a cyclone or whirlwind-like force.
"White dust was cycloning at the bottom of ravines that cut for miles into the red flatness"
- 4 To storm wildly; to be in a frenzy.
"When Whyte got an eyeful of our groundsman's Barkjano ass bouncing to a rapid beat, he exploded, not so much in words as in gestures and a rapid departure that contained far greater energy than a trifling “storm”—he cycloned-whirlwinded-squalled and thundergaled out of the house and the whole barbecue."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The eye of the cyclone is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of thunderstorms where the most severe weather occurs."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cyclone"?
Common synonyms include: air mass, anticyclone, baguio, blaze, blow, burst.
How do you use "cyclone" in a sentence?
The eye of the cyclone is surrounded by the eyewall, a ring of thunderstorms where the most severe weather occurs.
How do you pronounce "cyclone"?
Pronounced /ˈsaɪ.kloʊn/.
Etymology
Coined by Henry Piddington, probably in the 1840s, and based on some term in Ancient Greek. Sources disagree on the date and on which Ancient Greek term, though it had to be something derived from either κύκλος (kúklos, “circle, wheel”) or κυκλόω (kuklóō, “go around in a circle, form a circle, encircle”), for example the present active participle κυκλῶν (kuklôn). See cycle and wheel.