tsunami
/tsuːˈnɑːmi
/noun (plural same or tsunamis)
1A long, high sea wave caused by an earthquake or other disturbance: the loss of human lives from this latest tsunami is staggering...
- Many people refer to tsunamis as tidal waves, but scientists do not use this term to describe the phenomenon.
- Other destructive historical earthquakes and tsunamis have been smaller.
- Earthquakes and tsunamis of those proportions have hit us in the past as we do live in a very vulnerable part of the world, on a tectonic plate.
1.1An arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities or amounts: a tsunami of data pours into the CNBC newsroom every minute of every trading day...
- With the tsunami of holiday movies comes another batch of soundtrack discs.
- The film was released just prior to the enforcement of the Hays Code and thus escaped censorship despite a veritable tsunami of erotic images and motifs.
- Step Into Liquid is a surfing documentary that offers a satisfactory amount of thrills within a tsunami of platitudes and hyperbole.
Origin
Late 19th century: from Japanese, from tsu 'harbour' + nami 'wave'.
The tsunami of Boxing Day 2004 made this Japanese word for a huge sea wave caused by an underwater earthquake known to everyone, replacing the misleading term tidal wave. It is formed from tsu ‘harbour’ and nami ‘wave’. See also tornado, typhoon
Rhymes
- drop goal
- drop hammer
- drop handlebars
- drophead
- drop-in
- drop-in centre
- drop initial
- drop into
- drop kick
- drop-leaf
- droplet
- droplight
- drop names
- drop off
- drop one's aitches
- drop one's bundle
- drop one's guard
- drop one's serve
- drop one's trousers
- drop out
- dropout
- dropout factory
- droppable
- dropped handlebars
- dropped kerb