sandstorm

sandstorm — noun

1. a weather event in a dry, sandy region where powerful winds pick up sand from th

1.nounB1
Definition

a weather event in a dry, sandy region where powerful winds pick up sand from the ground and blow it through the air, often reducing visibility

Example

A sudden sandstorm forced Gabriel to cover his face and find shelter behind a rock.

countable noun used with 'a/an'; subject + verb + object pattern

Camila's village was hit by a sandstorm that buried several houses and killed their livestock.

passive construction: 'was hit by a sandstorm'

Common collocations
  • caught in a sandstorm
  • massive / severe / violent sandstorm
  • a sandstorm hits / strikes / sweeps through
  • sandstorm warning
  • sandstorm season
Synonyms
  • dust storm

    a windstorm carrying fine silt or clay particles rather than heavier sand grains; dust storms rise higher and travel farther than sandstorms

  • haboob

    a regional term from Sudan for an intense dust storm created by a thunderstorm's downdraft, now used internationally in meteorology

  • sand devil

    a much smaller, brief whirlwind that spins a column of sand into the air, similar to a tiny tornado

Usage Note

Countable noun; often used with the indefinite article 'a' or with adjectives such as 'massive', 'severe', or 'sudden'. The plural form 'sandstorms' is common when describing repeated or seasonal events.

Common Mistakes

A sand storm covered the highway.
A sandstorm covered the highway.
'sandstorm' is a closed compound word, written as one word.
The dust storm buried the car in heavy sand.
The sandstorm buried the car in heavy sand.
use 'sandstorm' when the particles are heavy sand grains; 'dust storm' refers to finer particles that can travel higher and farther.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four terms describe wind carrying particles through the air, but they differ in particle type, scale, and region. A sandstorm carries mostly sand — grains heavy enough to stay close to the ground, usually below two metres. A dust storm lifts finer silt or clay particles that can rise hundreds of metres and travel across continents; the 2020 'Godzilla dust storm' carried Saharan dust all the way to the Americas. Haboob is originally a Sudanese Arabic word for the enormous dust walls created by thunderstorm downdrafts; meteorologists now use it worldwide for this specific phenomenon. A sand devil is far smaller — a brief spinning column of sand, like a miniature tornado, lasting only a few minutes. For everyday weather reports in desert regions, sandstorm and dust storm are the most common terms.

sandstorm ↗dust stormhaboobsand devil

Common collocations

Nouns

  • sandstorm warning
  • sandstorm season
  • sandstorm damage

Phrases

  • caught in a sandstorm
  • survive a sandstorm
  • blinded by a sandstorm

Prepositions

  • in a sandstorm
  • during a sandstorm
  • through a sandstorm

Etymology

Old EnglishEnglish

Sandstorm is a compound word formed in English by joining 'sand' (from Old English 'sund', meaning small pieces of rock worn down by water) and 'storm' (from Old English 'storm', meaning a violent disturbance of the wind). The word has been recorded in English since the early 1800s, when explorers and colonists encountered desert regions.