What does "weather" mean?
The short-term state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place, including the temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, wind, etc.
Weather
/ˈwɛð.ə/ adj, noun, verb
adj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The short-term state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place, including the temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, wind, etc.
- Grammar: weather is listed as adj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: ablate, abrade, age, aged scroll.
- Useful contrasts: lee, climates, climatology.
- Usage evidence: "When will you be back?" "It all depends on the weather."
How to use "weather"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "weather" 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 "weather" 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 "weather" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "weather" 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 "weather" is acting as adj, 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 "ablate" 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 "weather", 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 The short-term state of the atmosphere at a specific time and place, including the temperature, relative humidity, cloud cover, precipitation, wind, etc. countable, uncountable
"What's the weather like today?"
- 2 the atmospheric conditions that comprise the state of the atmosphere in terms of temperature and wind and clouds and precipitation wordnet
- 3 Unpleasant or destructive atmospheric conditions, and their effects. countable, uncountable
"Wooden garden furniture must be well oiled as it is continuously exposed to weather."
- 4 The direction from which the wind is blowing; used attributively to indicate the windward side. countable, uncountable
"One complained of a bad cold in his head, upon which Jonah mixed him a pitch-like potion of gin and molasses, which he swore was a sovereign cure for all colds and catarrhs whatsoever, never mind of how long standing, or whether caught off the coast of Labrador, or on the weather side of an ice-island."
- 5 A situation. countable, figuratively
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A storm; a tempest. countable, obsolete, uncountable
"What gusts of weather from that gathering cloud / My thoughts presage!"
- 7 A light shower of rain. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To expose to the weather, or show the effects of such exposure, or to withstand such effects.
"The organisms […] seem indestructible, while the hard matrix in which they are embedded has weathered from around them."
- 2 change under the action or influence of the weather wordnet
- 3 To sustain the trying effect of; to bear up against and overcome; to endure; to resist. broadly
""Come hither! come hither! my little daughter, / And do not tremble so; / For I can weather the roughest gale, That ever wind did blow.""
- 4 sail to the windward of wordnet
- 5 To break down, of rocks and other materials, under the effects of exposure to rain, sunlight, temperature, and air.
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 cause to slope wordnet
- 7 To cause (rocks) to break down by crushing, grinding, and/or dissolving with acids.
"Lichens' ability to weather makes them a geological force, yet they do more than disolve the physical features of the world."
- 8 face and withstand with courage wordnet
- 9 To pass to windward in a vessel, especially to beat 'round.
"to weather a cape to weather another ship"
- 10 To endure or survive an event or action without undue damage.
"Joshua weathered a collision with a freighter near South Africa."
- 11 To place (a hawk) unhooded in the open air.
"If your hawk is bad-weathered, that is, will not fit on your fist when the wind blows, but hales, and beats, and hangs by the jeſſes, ſhe has an ill habit of the worſt kind."
- 12 To rain; to storm.
"But there's no law against taking pictures when it's weathering out there, and you're likely to produce some beautiful, if not different, images for your efforts. All that's needed is to dress your camera for the weather[…]"
Adjective
- 1 Facing towards the flow of a fluid, usually air. not-comparable
"weather side, weather helm"
Adjective
- 1 towards the side exposed to wind wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
""When will you be back?" "It all depends on the weather.""
Common questions
What is a synonym for "weather"?
Common synonyms include: ablate, abrade, age, aged scroll, ancient remains, antique object.
How do you use "weather" in a sentence?
"When will you be back?" "It all depends on the weather."
How do you pronounce "weather"?
Pronounced /ˈwɛð.ə/.
Etymology
From Middle English weder, wedir, from Old English weder, from Proto-West Germanic *wedr, from Proto-Germanic *wedrą, from Proto-Indo-European *wedʰrom (=*we-dʰrom), from *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). Cognates Cognate with Scots wather (“weather”), Saterland Frisian Weeder (“weather”), Cimbrian bèttar (“weather”), Dutch weder, weer (“weather”), German Wetter (“weather”), Low German Weder (“weather”), Luxembourgish Wieder (“weather”), Yiddish וועטער (veter, “weather”), Danish vejr (“weather”), Faroese, Icelandic veður (“weather”), Norwegian Bokmål vær (“weather”), Norwegian Nynorsk veder, vêr (“weather”), Swedish väder (“weather”); also more distantly related to Russian вёдро (vjódro, “fair weather”) and perhaps Albanian vrëndë (“light rain”). Other cognates include Sanskrit निर्वाण (nirvāṇa, “blown or put out, extinguished”).