Simoom
//sɪˈmuːm// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A hot, dry, suffocating, dust-laden wind of the desert, particularly of Arabia, Syria, and neighboring countries, generated by the extreme heat of the parched deserts or sandy plains.
"The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them."
- 2 a violent hot sand-laden wind on the deserts of Arabia and North Africa wordnet
Example
More examples"The desert storm was riding in its strength; the travellers lay beneath the mastery of the fell simoom. Whirling wreaths and columns of burning wind, rushed around and over them."
Etymology
From Arabic سَمُوم (samūm, “hot wind”), from سَمَّ (samma, “to poison”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.