avalanche
Use Avalanche in a sentence
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əˌlæntʃ, -ˌlɑntʃ noun
1.
a large mass of snow, ice, etc., detached from a mountain slope and sliding or falling suddenly downward.
2.
anything like an avalanche in suddenness and overwhelming quantity: an avalanche of misfortunes; an avalanche of fan mail.
3.
Also called Townsend avalanche. Physics, Chemistry. a cumulative ionization process in which the ions and electrons of one generation undergo collisions that produce a greater number of ions and electrons in succeeding generations.
verb (used without object)
4.
to come down in, or like, an avalanche.
verb (used with object)
5.
to overwhelm with an extremely large amount of anything; swamp.
Origin:
1755–65; < French < dial. (Savoy) avalantse, alteration (by association with avaler to descend rapidly) of laventse < pre-Latin (perhaps Ligurian) *lavanca, or reshaping of Late Latin labīna landslide (derivative of Latin labī to slide) with a pre-Latin suffix -anca
1755–65; < French < dial. (Savoy) avalantse, alteration (by association with avaler to descend rapidly) of laventse < pre-Latin (perhaps Ligurian) *lavanca, or reshaping of Late Latin labīna landslide (derivative of Latin labī to slide) with a pre-Latin suffix -anca
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To avalanche
00:10
Avalanche
is one of our favorite verbs.
So is kibitz. Does it mean:
| to spend time idly; loaf. |
| chat, to converse |
Collins
World English Dictionary
avalanche (ˈævəˌlɑːntʃ) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —n | |
| 1. | a. a fall of large masses of snow and ice down a mountain |
| b. a fall of rocks, sand, etc | |
| 2. | a sudden or overwhelming appearance of a large quantity of things: an avalanche of letters |
| 3. | physics a group of ions or electrons produced by a single ion or electron as a result of a collision with some other form of matter |
| —vb | |
| 4. | to come down overwhelmingly (upon) |
| [C18: from French, by mistaken division from la valanche, from valanche, from (northwestern Alps) dialect lavantse; related to Old Provençal lavanca, of obscure origin] | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History
avalanche
1771, from Fr. avalanche, from Romansch (Swiss) avalantze "descent," altered (by metathesis of -l- and -v-, probably influenced by O.Fr. avaler "to descend, go down") from Savoy dial. lavantse, from Prov. lavanca "avalanche," perhaps from a pre-L. Alpine language (the suffix -anca suggests Ligurian).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
avalanche (āv'ə-lānch') Pronunciation Key
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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Example sentences
Have students work in pairs to find the entry for avalanche in a dictionary.
But not before the avalanche of other evidence of the public's declining confidence in higher education.
However, the unfavorable weather and huge base of snow meant the avalanche risk was too high to try.
In doing so, they triggered an avalanche of news-media coverage and a fierce backlash.
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