avalanche
noun /ˈævəlɑːnʃ/
/ˈævəlæntʃ/
(North American English also snowslide)
- a mass of snow, ice and rock that falls down the side of a mountain
- alpine villages destroyed in an avalanche
- He was killed in an avalanche while skiing.
- (figurative) We received an avalanche of letters in reply to our advertisement.
Wordfinder- avalanche
- cyclone
- disaster
- earthquake
- eruption
- flood
- hurricane
- landslide
- tornado
- tsunami
Wordfinder- avalanche
- blizzard
- drift
- flurry
- hail
- icicle
- sleet
- slush
- snow
- thaw
Extra ExamplesTopics Weatherb2, The environmentb2, Geographyb2- (figurative) The issue has generated an avalanche of controversy.
- (figurative) the avalanche of lawlessness threatening to engulf our civilization
Word Originlate 18th cent.: from French, alteration of the Alpine dialect word lavanche (of unknown origin), influenced by avaler ‘descend’; compare with Italian valanga.