CYCLONE
Dictionary entry overview: What does cyclone mean?
• CYCLONE (noun)
The noun CYCLONE has 2 senses:
1. (meteorology) rapid inward circulation of air masses about a low-pressure center; circling counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern
2. a violent rotating windstorm
Familiarity information: CYCLONE used as a noun is rare.
Dictionary entry details
• CYCLONE (noun)
Meaning:
(meteorology) rapid inward circulation of air masses about a low-pressure center; circling counterclockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern
Classified under:
Nouns denoting stable states of affairs
Hypernyms ("cyclone" is a kind of...):
atmosphere; atmospheric state (the weather or climate at some place)
Meronyms (parts of "cyclone"):
depression; low; low pressure (an air mass of lower pressure; often brings precipitation)
Domain category:
meteorology (the earth science dealing with phenomena of the atmosphere (especially weather))
Antonym:
anticyclone ((meteorology) winds spiraling outward from a high-pressure center; circling clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern)
Meaning:
A violent rotating windstorm
Classified under:
Nouns denoting natural phenomena
Hypernyms ("cyclone" is a kind of...):
windstorm (a storm consisting of violent winds)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cyclone"):
hurricane (a severe tropical cyclone usually with heavy rains and winds moving a 73-136 knots (12 on the Beaufort scale))
tornado; twister (a localized and violently destructive windstorm occurring over land characterized by a funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground)
typhoon (a tropical cyclone occurring in the western Pacific or Indian oceans)
