tornado

tornado — noun

1. a very powerful, fast-spinning column of air that reaches from a thunderstorm cl

1.nounB1
Definition

a very powerful, fast-spinning column of air that reaches from a thunderstorm cloud down to the ground and can cause serious damage to buildings, trees, and vehicles while sweeping across the land.

Example

The tornado destroyed several homes in the small town of Oakville last night.

tornado + destroyed — common verb collocation

Zola and her family hid in the basement when they heard the tornado warning.

tornado warning — compound noun for alerts

Common collocations
  • powerful / destructive / massive tornado
  • tornado warning / watch / alert
  • tornado struck / hit / swept through / ripped through
  • tornado activity / season / outbreak
  • tornado damage / victim / survivor
Synonyms
  • twister

    informal, especially in American English; refers to the same phenomenon

  • cyclone

    broader term for any large-scale rotating storm system; technically a different weather phenomenon

  • whirlwind

    less destructive, usually smaller rotating column of air; can describe any spinning wind

Usage Note

The plural form is most commonly tornadoes (less often tornados). In weather reports, tornadoes are ranked by the Enhanced Fujita (EF) scale from EF0 (weakest) to EF5 (strongest).

Common Mistakes

A tornado forms over warm ocean water.
A tornado forms over land during a thunderstorm.
Hurricanes form over oceans, but tornadoes form on land from storm clouds.

Word family

  • tornadic
    adjectiveC2
  • tornadoes
    nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Tornado, twister, cyclone, and whirlwind all describe spinning wind, but they differ greatly in scale and formality. Tornado is the standard scientific and news term for a violent, funnel-shaped column of air reaching from a thunderstorm to the ground. Twister is a casual American synonym — you might hear it in movies or everyday conversation, but not in official weather warnings. Cyclone refers to a much larger rotating storm system (hundreds of miles wide) over oceans, such as those in the Indian Ocean or around Australia; calling a tornado a cyclone is inaccurate. Whirlwind describes any small spinning column of air, from a harmless dust devil in a parking lot to a minor gust that lifts leaves — it lacks the destructive force implied by tornado. For example: 'A tornado leveled the entire block' vs. 'A whirlwind sent napkins flying across the picnic table.'

tornado ↗twistercyclone ↗whirlwind

Etymology

SpanishLatinEnglish

The word tornado comes from Spanish 'tornado,' which originally meant 'thunderstorm' and comes from 'tornar' ('to turn'), from Latin 'tornare' ('to turn on a lathe'). English borrowed the Spanish term in the 1500s and gradually shifted its meaning from any severe thunderstorm to the specific funnel-shaped vortex we know today.