Upwelling

noun, verb

noun, verb ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    An upward movement from a lower source.

    "Rather separate from the abolitionist campaign, although likewise led by anglophone Evangelicals, was a sudden upwelling of commitment to worldwide mission."

  2. 2
    the oceanographic phenomenon that occurs when strong, usually seasonal, winds push water away from the coast, bringing cold, nutrient-rich deep waters up to the surface
Verb
  1. 1
    present participle and gerund of upwell form-of, gerund, participle, present

Synonyms

All synonyms
downwelling

Example

More examples

"Ocean currents, the upwelling of cold water from the deep ocean, winds, movements of heat and freshwater, and Earth’s gravitational pull all play a role in moving water masses around."

Etymology

From up- + welling.

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