monsoon
noun
mon·soon män-ˈsün 
ˈmän-ˌsün
1
: a periodic wind especially in the Indian Ocean and southern Asia
2
: the season of the southwest monsoon in India and adjacent areas that is characterized by very heavy rainfall
3
: rainfall that is associated with the monsoon
monsoonal
män-ˈsü-nᵊl
adjective ˈmän-ˌsü-
Example Sentences
floods caused by summer monsoons
Recent Examples on the Web That is a significant achievement; more than 1,200 people – almost one-third of them children – have died since the monsoon began at the end of June. 
Hasan Ali, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Sep. 2022 And according to a 2021 study global, heating is making the south Asian monsoon more intense and erratic, with each 1 degree Celsius rise in global temperature leading to 5 percent more rain. Damian Carrington, WIRED, 3 Sep. 2022 And now the monster monsoon of the decade is wreaking nonstop havoc throughout the country. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2022 But Moede says its possible that the seasonal monsoon will surge back to life on Thursday and last several days, producing high humidity from the coast to the mountains. Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2022 Since mid-June, when the monsoon began, over 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) of road, 130 bridges and 495,000 homes have been damaged, according to NDMA's last situation report, figures also echoed in the OHCA report. Reuters, CNN, 25 Aug. 2022 Looking eastward, the monsoon presses on with another chance of showers/t'storms. Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2022 Paddy is a water-heavy crop and, like India in general, is heavily dependent on the annual monsoon. Mimansa Verma, Quartz, 4 Aug. 2022 During the summertime monsoon in the Desert Southwest, intense flooding can seemingly come from nowhere. Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 1 Aug. 2022 See More
Hasan Ali, The Christian Science Monitor, 6 Sep. 2022 And according to a 2021 study global, heating is making the south Asian monsoon more intense and erratic, with each 1 degree Celsius rise in global temperature leading to 5 percent more rain. Damian Carrington, WIRED, 3 Sep. 2022 And now the monster monsoon of the decade is wreaking nonstop havoc throughout the country. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2022 But Moede says its possible that the seasonal monsoon will surge back to life on Thursday and last several days, producing high humidity from the coast to the mountains. Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Aug. 2022 Since mid-June, when the monsoon began, over 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) of road, 130 bridges and 495,000 homes have been damaged, according to NDMA's last situation report, figures also echoed in the OHCA report. Reuters, CNN, 25 Aug. 2022 Looking eastward, the monsoon presses on with another chance of showers/t'storms. Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times, 15 Aug. 2022 Paddy is a water-heavy crop and, like India in general, is heavily dependent on the annual monsoon. Mimansa Verma, Quartz, 4 Aug. 2022 During the summertime monsoon in the Desert Southwest, intense flooding can seemingly come from nowhere. Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 1 Aug. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
obsolete Dutch monssoen, from Portuguese monção, from Arabic mawsim time, season
First Known Use
1584, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
monsoon
noun
mon·soon män-ˈsün
1
: a wind in the Indian Ocean and southern Asia that blows from the southwest from April to October and from the northeast from October to April
2
: the rainy season that comes with the southwest monsoon
monsoon
noun
as in downpour
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- downpour
- rainstorm
- cloudburst
- thunderstorm
- deluge
- storm
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
- rainfall
- precipitation
- mist
- drizzle
- shower
- mizzle
- sprinkle