Rainfall made so acidic by atmospheric pollution that it causes environmental harm, chiefly to forests and lakes. The main cause is the industrial burning of coal and other fossil fuels, the waste gases from which contain sulphur and nitrogen oxides which combine with atmospheric water to form acids.
example - Power generated from fossil fuels causes smog, mercury pollution, acid rain and global warming.
An instrument for determining altitude attained, especially a barometric or radar device fitted in an aircraft.
example - On entering the water, I am immediately on an undersea treadmill, legs pumping furiously, pressure gauge falling like the altimeter of a crashing aircraft.
A weather system with high barometric pressure at its centre, around which air slowly circulates in a clockwise (northern hemisphere) or anticlockwise (southern hemisphere) direction. Anticyclones are associated with calm, fine weather.
example - In summer, the weather associated with anticyclones is usually fine and cloud-free.
A mass of snow, ice, and rocks falling rapidly down a mountainside.
example - he was swept to his death by an avalanche in 1988
synonyms - snowslide, snow slip
A sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities.
example - we have had an avalanche of applications for the post
synonyms - barrage, volley
A cumulative process in which a fast-moving ion or electron generates further ions and electrons by collision.
example - These very intense fields in very low-pressure conditions generate an avalanche of electrons on to metals that can become destructive and cause losses in heavy investment.
verb
(of a mass of snow, ice, etc.) descend rapidly down a mountainside.
example - The snow had recently avalanched, so only surface hoar is thawing.
Undergo a rapid increase in conductivity due to an avalanche process.
example - Some of the avalanched electrons will travel through the thin oxide of the diode region.
A scale of wind speed based on a visual estimation of the wind"s effects, ranging from force 0 (less than 1 knot or 1 km/h, ‘calm’) to force 12 (64 knots or 118 km/h and above, ‘hurricane’).
example - Typhoon Rananim brought hurricanes of force 12 on the Beaufort scale when it landed.
A transparent coating of ice, especially on a road surface.
example - The A127 and A13 were particularly badly hit after several centimetres of snow fell overnight, compounded by black ice and a frost which hardened the snow into a virtual skating rink.
A layer of more or less stationary fluid (such as water or air) immediately surrounding an immersed moving object.
example - Clearly water as a weak boundary layer and the dielectric constant of aqueous media do not prevent byssal adhesion on any surface tested, but it remains to be shown how these are specifically mitigated.
The ability or tendency of something to float in water or other fluid.
example - My lungs then re-expand, my wetsuit buoyancy returns and I float to the surface.
synonyms - ability to float, tendency to float, lightness
A cheerful and optimistic attitude or disposition.
example - At his Balzacian best, he radiated warmth, buoyancy, optimism and hope; but in his more Dostoyevskian mode, he was consumed by doubt, loneliness, envy and disappointment.
A colourless, odourless gas produced by burning carbon and organic compounds and by respiration. It is naturally present in air (about 0.03 per cent) and is absorbed by plants in photosynthesis.
example - This fixed air is carbon dioxide, into which carbonates decompose when heated.
A warm dry wind which blows down the east side of the Rocky Mountains at the end of winter.
example - In Alberta, Canada, those complaints revolve around chinooks, the warm winds that sweep the area during winter.
A large North Pacific salmon that is an important commercial food fish.
example - Its year-round fishing was about as good as it gets - until three prime species ended up listed under the Endangered Species Act (coho salmon, chinook salmon and steelhead).
Cloud forming a broken layer of small fleecy clouds at high altitude (usually 5 to 13 km, 16,500 to 45,000 ft), typically with a rippled or granulated appearance (as in a mackerel sky).
example - The breeze was soft, but bracingly cool, and the deep blue of the sky was checkered with a high cirrocumulus web, glinting golden and magenta in the glancing sunlight.
Cloud forming wispy filamentous tufted streaks or ‘mare"s tails’ at high altitude (usually 5 to 13 km, 16,500 to 45,000 ft)
example - long strands of high cirrus stretched across the eastern sky
A slender tendril or hairlike filament, such as the appendage of a barnacle, the barbel of a fish, or the intromittent organ of an earthworm.
example - Once the barnacles extended their cirri (fanlike, food-gathering appendages) and started waving them about to collect nutritious particles in the water, the researchers cast a shadow over them with a piece of cardboard.
A change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
example - We have seen the Rio earth summit and the Kyoto agreement on climate change.
The boundary of an advancing mass of cold air, in particular the trailing edge of the warm sector of a low-pressure system.
example - Although cold fronts associated with southern low pressure systems penetrate the ridge from time to time during summer, they generally fail to produce much useful rain.
The process by which heat or electricity is directly transmitted through the material of a substance when there is a difference of temperature or of electrical potential between adjoining regions, without movement of the material.
example - In solids that conduct electricity, heat conduction is further enhanced by the drift of free electrons.
The movement caused within a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to sink under the influence of gravity, which consequently results in transfer of heat.
example - the final transfer of energy to the surface is by convection
An effect whereby a mass moving in a rotating system experiences a force (the Coriolis force) acting perpendicular to the direction of motion and to the axis of rotation. On the earth, the effect tends to deflect moving objects to the right in the northern hemisphere and to the left in the southern and is important in the formation of cyclonic weather systems.
example - The gyroscopes sense angular motion by measuring the Coriolis effect induced by rotation, using a vibrating MEMS structure.
The rarefied gaseous envelope of the sun and other stars. The sun"s corona is normally visible only during a total solar eclipse, when it is seen as an irregularly shaped pearly glow surrounding the darkened disc of the moon.
example - With the face of the Sun blocked by the Moon during a solar eclipse, the corona shines with the brightness of a full Moon.
A part of the body resembling or likened to a crown.
example - The heart muscle has its own blood supply coming from a crown or corona of blood vessels that circle the heart, sending down branches to various parts of the muscle.
The cup-shaped or trumpet-shaped outgrowth at the centre of a daffodil or narcissus flower.
example - In the flowers, corolla, corona and anther structure are similar, but the shape of the pollen tetrads in the two genera is different.
A system of winds rotating inwards to an area of low barometric pressure, with an anticlockwise (northern hemisphere) or clockwise (southern hemisphere) circulation; a depression.
example - Visitors were told how weather data which flow in continuously from around 500 weather stations all over the country are analysed, plotted on maps and then low pressure zones determined to forecast depressions and cyclones.
The amount, level, or extent to which something happens or is present.
example - a degree of caution is probably wise
synonyms - level, stage, point, rung, standard, grade, gradation, mark
A unit of measurement of angles, one ninetieth of a right angle or the angle subtended by one three-hundred-and-sixtieth of the circumference of a circle.
example - set at an angle of 45 degrees
A unit in any of various scales of temperature, intensity, or hardness.Each of a set of grades (usually three) used to classify burns according to their severity.A legal grade of crime or offence, especially murder.A step in direct genealogical descent.A position in a musical scale, counting upwards from the tonic or fundamental note.The class into which an equation falls according to the highest power of unknowns or variables present.Any of the three steps on the scale of comparison of gradable adjectives and adverbs, namely positive, comparative, and superlative.A rank in an order of freemasonry.A thing placed like a step in a series; a tier or row.
example - water boils at 100 degrees Celsius
An academic rank conferred by a college or university after examination or after completion of a course, or conferred as an honour on a distinguished person.
example - a degree in zoology
Social or official rank.
example - persons of unequal degree
synonyms - social class, social status, rank, position in society, standing in society
The atmospheric temperature (varying according to pressure and humidity) below which water droplets begin to condense and dew can form.
example - Starkey says the league sets standards the Ducks have to meet for ice and building temperatures, the dew point and humidity, which, if all are met, will provide the best ice.
A strong downward current of air from a cumulonimbus cloud, which is usually accompanied by intense rain or a thunderstorm.
example - Waterspouts are basically tornadoes that are over water, and downbursts are violent gusts of winds blowing directly downwards from the storm cloud.
A thick cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth"s surface which obscures or restricts visibility (to a greater extent than mist; strictly, reducing visibility to below 1 km)
(of a vowel sound) formed by raising the tongue, excluding the blade and tip, towards the hard palate.
verb
(of a building or piece of land) have the front facing or directed towards.
example - the flats which fronted Crow Road
synonyms - overlook, look on to, look out on, look out over, look towards, face, face towards, lie opposite, lie opposite to
Provide (something) with a front or facing of a particular type or material.
example - a metal box fronted by an alloy panel
Lead or be the most prominent member in (an organization, group, or activity)
example - the group is fronted by two girl singers
synonyms - lead, head, front, be the driving force behind
Act as a front or cover for illegal or secret activity.
example - he fronted for them in illegal property deals
Make an appearance; turn up.
example - parents get a bit worried if you don"t front up now and then
Articulate (a vowel sound) with the tongue further forward.
example - the three velar consonants are normally fronted to some degree
Place (a sentence element) at the beginning of a sentence instead of in its usual position, typically for emphasis or as a feature of some dialects, as in horrible it was.
example - The quoted event can be a linguistic utterance; moreover, as this example shows, the quoted element can be fronted.
A gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth"s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants.
example - The company is deeply concerned by the effects of global warming caused by the greenhouse effect.
The trapping of the sun"s warmth in a planet"s lower atmosphere, due to the greater transparency of the atmosphere to visible radiation from the sun than to infrared radiation emitted from the planet"s surface.
example - Scientists predict that this increase may enhance the greenhouse effect making the planet warmer.
example - Of course, keeping beautiful amid the heat and humidity is no easy task, so the Shanghai Star brings you some new and effective ways to help you look your best in the hot weather.
A period of unusually dry, warm weather occurring in late autumn.
example - Soon it was time to climb up the large stone steps, warm from the Indian summer sunlight and less intimidating now that Elise knew what lay within the labyrinthine caverns.
The action of inverting something or the state of being inverted.
example - the inversion of the normal domestic arrangement
synonyms - reversal, transposition, turning about, turning upside down
A reversal of the normal decrease of air temperature with altitude, or of water temperature with depth.A layer of the atmosphere in which temperature increases with height.
example - Precise data on vertical rainfall distribution, temperature lapse rate, and the altitude of the temperature inversion on the windward slope exist for this oceanic wet tropical mountain.
The process of finding a quantity, function, etc. from a given one such that the product of the two under a particular operation is the identity.
The action or practice of relocating a multinational company"s legal residence to a jurisdiction where taxes are levied at a lower rate.
example - since the company maintains a franchisee model, it is a viable target for inversion
The layer of the earth"s atmosphere which contains a high concentration of ions and free electrons and is able to reflect radio waves. It lies above the mesosphere and extends from about 80 to 1,000 km above the earth"s surface.
example - The ionosphere is the layer extending from about 80 km to the outer reaches of the atmosphere that includes charged particles.
A narrow variable band of very strong predominantly westerly air currents encircling the globe several miles above the earth. There are typically two or three jet streams in each of the northern and southern hemispheres.
example - brief bursts of cold air have been blown into the region by the jet stream
A flow of exhaust gases from a jet engine.
example - Then just under 24 hours later, I hear it again, but still have no luck spotting the airplane - or even her jet stream.
The rate at which air temperature falls with increasing altitude.
example - Even though the stratosphere has an opposite lapse rate to the troposphere because of the ozone absorption, the effect of increasing GHGs is the same, i.e. since it is above the effective radiating level, it will cool.
The angular distance of a place north or south of the earth"s equator, or of the equator of a celestial object, usually expressed in degrees and minutes.
example - at a latitude of 51° N
synonyms - parallel, grid line
Scope for freedom of action or thought.
example - journalists have considerable latitude in criticizing public figures
synonyms - freedom, scope, leeway, elbow room, breathing space, space, room, flexibility, liberty, independence, play, slack, free rein, free play, licence, self-determination, room to manoeuvre, scope for initiative, freedom of action, freedom from restriction, a free hand, margin, leisure, unrestrictedness, indulgence, laxity
The occurrence of a natural electrical discharge of very short duration and high voltage between a cloud and the ground or within a cloud, accompanied by a bright flash and typically also thunder.
example - speculation on the likely effect of opting out
synonyms - probable, distinctly possible, to be expected, odds-on, on, possible, credible, plausible, believable, within the bounds of possibility, imaginable
Apparently suitable; promising.
example - a likely-looking spot
synonyms - suitable, appropriate, apposite, fit, fitting, acceptable, proper, right
adverb
Probably.
example - we will most likely go to a bar
synonyms - probably, in all probability, presumably, no doubt, doubtlessly
The angular distance of a place east or west of the Greenwich meridian, or west of the standard meridian of a celestial object, usually expressed in degrees and minutes.
A cloud of tiny water droplets suspended in the atmosphere at or near the earth"s surface that limits visibility (to a lesser extent than fog; strictly, with visibility remaining above 1 km)
A seasonal prevailing wind in the region of South and SE Asia, blowing from the south-west between May and September and bringing rain (the wet monsoon), or from the north-east between October and April (the dry monsoon).
example - This creates winds that generally blow from the southwest during the summer monsoon and from the northeast from October to April.
The chemical element of atomic number 7, a colourless, odourless unreactive gas that forms about 78 per cent of the earth"s atmosphere. Liquid nitrogen (made by distilling liquid air) boils at 77.4 kelvins (−195.8°C) and is used as a coolant.
example - Plant tissue was ground in liquid nitrogen and the protein extracted as described earlier.
A person"s point of view or general attitude to life.
example - he had a practical outlook on life
synonyms - point of view, viewpoint, views, slant, angle, interpretation, opinion, thinking, way of thinking, perspective, attitude, standpoint, stance, position, frame of mind
A view.
example - the pleasant outlook from the club window
A colourless unstable toxic gas with a pungent odour and powerful oxidizing properties, formed from oxygen by electrical discharges or ultraviolet light. It differs from normal oxygen (O₂) in having three atoms in its molecule (O₃).
example - Adding that third oxygen atom makes ozone a very pushy and highly obnoxious little molecule.
Fresh invigorating air, especially that blowing on to the shore from the sea.
A system for detecting the presence, direction, distance, and speed of aircraft, ships, and other objects, by sending out pulses of radio waves which are reflected off the object back to the source.
example - Chavez reported that Venezuelan radar detected the presence of the ships and planes during the coup attempt.
An instrument carried by balloon or other means to various levels of the atmosphere and transmitting measurements by radio.
example - This rate of temperature decrease, the environmental lapse rate, must be measured to be known; this is done routinely by balloons carrying instruments called radiosondes.
An arch of colours visible in the sky, caused by the refraction and dispersion of the sun"s light by rain or other water droplets in the atmosphere. The colours of the rainbow are generally said to be red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.
The fact or phenomenon of light, radio waves, etc. being deflected in passing obliquely through the interface between one medium and another or through a medium of varying density.
example - The disagreement concerns one of the most fundamental and best-known phenomena in optics - refraction.
(of troops) suddenly attack and capture (a building or other place) by means of force.
example - commandos stormed a hijacked plane early today
synonyms - attack, charge, rush, conduct an offensive on, make an onslaught on, make a foray on, make a raid on, make a sortie on, descend on, take by storm, attempt to capture
(of the weather) be violent, with strong winds and usually rain, thunder, lightning, or snow.
example - It was practically dark as we prepared to put the sign onto the posts when a strong wind stormed through bringing an icy rain and hail with it.
Cloud forming a low layer of clumped or broken grey masses.
example - In summer, Arctic Ocean packice cover is incomplete and heavily puddled, which maintains a constant layer of stratus and stratocumulus cloud cover.
An instrument for measuring and indicating temperature, typically one consisting of a narrow, hermetically sealed glass tube marked with graduations and having at one end a bulb containing mercury or alcohol which extends along the tube as it expands.
example - Narrow-range mercury thermometers were used to measure sand surface temperature.
A loud rumbling or crashing noise heard after a lightning flash due to the expansion of rapidly heated air.
example - there was a crash of thunder
synonyms - thunderclap, thunder crack, thunder roll, roll of thunder, peal of thunder, rumble of thunder, crack of thunder, crash of thunder, rumbling, crashing, roar
verb
Thunder sounds.
example - it began to thunder
Speak loudly and forcefully or angrily, especially to denounce or criticize.
example - he thundered against the evils of the age
synonyms - protest strongly at, make a protest against, fulminate against, inveigh against, rail against, rage against, declaim against, remonstrate about, expostulate about, make a fuss about, speak out against, express disapproval of
example - The subtropical highs move from west to east across southern Australia in winter, and further south in summer, usually separated by low pressure troughs or cold fronts.
A point of low activity or achievement.
example - seasonal peaks and troughs in the demand for goods and services
A tropical storm in the region of the Indian or western Pacific oceans.
example - There has been an observed and recorded link between the sea surface temperature and the frequency and intensity of tropical storms, typhoons and hurricanes.
(Originally) water droplets suspended in air, especially in the form of mist or steam (now rare); (in later use) water in its (invisible) gaseous phase.
(Originally) water droplets suspended in air, especially in the form of mist or steam (now rare); (in later use) water in its (invisible) gaseous phase.
The perceptible natural movement of the air, especially in the form of a current of air blowing from a particular direction.
example - the wind howled about the building
synonyms - breeze
Breath as needed in physical exertion, speech, etc., or the power of breathing without difficulty in such situations.
example - he waited while Jez got his wind back
synonyms - breath
Air swallowed while eating or gas generated in the stomach and intestines by digestion.
example - The fruit, its oils and the kernel were traditionally used to treat severe acid stomach, excess wind, fatigue after menstruation and the common cold.
synonyms - flatulence, flatus, gas
Wind instruments, or specifically woodwind instruments, forming a band or a section of an orchestra.
example - these passages are most suitable for wind alone
synonyms - wind instruments.
verb
Cause (someone) to have difficulty breathing because of exertion or a blow to the stomach.
example - the fall nearly winded him
synonyms - out of breath, breathless, gasping for breath, panting, puffing, huffing and puffing, puffing and blowing
Make (a baby) bring up wind after feeding by patting its back.
example - Paddy"s wife handed him their six-month-old daughter to be winded
Detect the presence of (a person or animal) by scent.
Variation in wind velocity occurring along a direction at right angles to the wind"s direction and tending to exert a turning force.
example - Near the ground, thunderstorms sometimes create quick changes in wind speed and direction, called wind shear, which has caused several crashes.