hurricane

/ˈhʌɹɪkən/

More pronunciations (2)Fewer pronunciations

British/ˈhʌɹɪkɛjn/

hurricane noun: a severe tropical cyclone; an intense storm rotating around a central eye.

Image: ABI imagery from NOAA's GOES-16 Satellite, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

hurricane (plural hurricanes)

A severe tropical cyclone; an intense storm rotating around a central eye.
- Whole villages have been leveled by the hurricane coastal residents braced for.
- THE HURRICANE OF AUGUST 1831. Calamitous as were the many eruptions of nature by which this island [Barbados] had suffered, the aggregate destruction produced by them was probably unequal to that effected by the storm of August 1831. That of 1675, according to the description given in history, very...1831, Account of the Fatal Hurricane, by which Barbados Suffered in August 1831: To Which is Prefixed a Succinct Narrative of the Convulsions of the Elements, Which at Several Times Have Visited and...
A severe tropical cyclone in the North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, or in the eastern North Pacific off the west coast of Mexico, with winds of 119 km/h (74 miles per hour) or greater accompanied by rain, lightning, and thunder that sometimes moves into temperate latitudes.
- Near-synonyms: typhoon, cyclone
- Janice was a tropical depression 10 days ago, a tropical storm 5 days ago, and a hurricane yesterday and today.
Synonyms:

typhoon, cyclone
(figuratively) A great forceful onrush.
- [A]fter all thoſe Hurricans of Fury and Violence are novv blovvn over, vve enjoy a ſerene Air, and the happy quiet vvhich vve had ſo much long'd for.1687, L[ucius] C[aecilius] F[irmianus] Lactantius, translated by Gilbert Burnet, A Relation of the Death of the Primitive Persecutors. […], Amsterdam: […] J[ohn] S[tarkey], →OCLC, paragraph I, page 56
- Her hands snaked down to her sides and suddenly she had torn away the strip of lace. She threw it into the audience. There was nothing now but a single black G-string. The drums went into a hurricane of sexual rhythm.1954, Ian Fleming, “Table Z”, in Live and Let Die, London: Pan Books, published 1957, page 59
(cocktails) A sweet alcoholic drink made with rum, lemon juice (or sometimes other fruit juice), and either passion fruit syrup or fassionola.

Verb

hurricane (third-person singular simple present hurricanes, present participle hurricaning, simple past and past participle hurricaned)

(ambitransitive) To be violent, with winds of 119 km/h (74 miles per hour) or greater, usually accompanied by rain, lightning, and thunder.
- Through the night it rained, hurricaned; sashes rattled; the chimney smoked; a lobby-door was ajar, and kept banging to and fro.1872 September, Matthew Stradling, “The Misadventures of Mr. Catlyne, Q.C.”, in Fraser's Magazine, page 375
- So I got inside my 'possum-skin—it hurricaned an' snowed— And I started for the Deepot, and lit out for his abode.1897, Philip Neville, Marginal Notes: In Indian Ink, page 261
To move noisily, quickly, and dramatically, becoming the center of attention.
- While thus employed, Mrs. Winthrop hurricaned into the room, and having received explanations, hurricaned forth again to tell her husband how dreadfully thoughtless his arrangement was, since Frank would have to take Miss Allenby into dinner.1911, Edward Frederic Benson, Account Rendered, page 24
- They must have told him I was ready for visitors; he hurricaned into the room, slung a chair away from the wall and banged it down next to the bed.2014, Harlan Ellison, Children of the Streets
To attempt to accomplish a great deal with a frenzied effort.
- There were still spots on the mirror I had cleaned and tiny bits of newspaper were stuck in its edges where I had hurricaned through in my initial cleaning frenzy.2011, Geri Larkin, Stumbling Toward Enlightenment, page 81
- "A clean home is a good home," she'd say as she hurricaned from room to room with vacuum cleaner and feather duster, hands gauntleted in Marigolds.2012, James Lovegrove, Age of Anansi
To swirl quickly and violently.
- A whole swirl of turnarounds hurricaned from him.2014, D.H. Melhem, Heroism in the New Black Poetry: Introductions and Interviews
- Kona responded as air hurricaned out of the bay and water rushed in.2020, Erik Seedhouse, Terminal Reality
To tear apart in a violent, destructive, and/or chaotic manner.
- Urganda, hurricaned with violent perturbation of mind commences the fourth act; and, after a soliloquy, or rather incantation, raises a dæmon of revenge;1770, Francis Gentleman, The Dramatic Censor, page 429
- My personal life has been hurricaned in the last month, not by the war particularly, but by having to decide not to “live in sin” after trying it for a few days.2009, Robert W. Malcolmson, Olivia Cockett, Love and War in London: A Woman’s Diary 1939-1942, page 15
To cause an uproar.
- What do they therefore but quickly get themselves into a body, and fall forthwith to hurricaning in Mansoul, as if now nothing but whirlwind and tempest should be there.1678, John Bunyan, The pilgrim's progress
- It blew open. It hurricaned onto shore.2011, Timothy Taylor, The Blue Light Project, page 78
To storm excessivly; to fume and rage violently.
- He rang for the cook, and stormed and hurricaned and cycloned at her until the rain-clouds burst, and she wept.1898, William Carter Platts, A Few Smiles, page 72
To chase violently or rush after and force along.
- As he hurricaned toward her, she turned and ran to the drop-off place.1918, Adventure - Volume 17, Part 2, page 180
- Then they would all be in a confused clutter and cluster there, and there would be a mad stampede when The Black Watch hurricaned on their heels from behind, and several bags, boxes and barrels, if not virtually all, would fall in their wild rush for The Pra, their wounded and sick abandoned in a...2010, Melvin F. Compton, Black Lions: A First on Ashanti, page 366

Noun (2)

hurricane (plural hurricanes)

"full—triple-full—full" – an acrobatic maneuver consisting of three flips and five twists, with one twist on the first flip, three twists on the second flip, one twist on the third flip

Proper noun capitalized: Hurricane

Hurricane

A locality in the Shire of Mareeba, Queensland, Australia.
An unincorporated community in Baldwin County, Alabama.
An unincorporated community in Perry County, Kentucky.
An unincorporated community in Crooked Creek Township, Bollinger County, Missouri.
An unincorporated community in Washington County, Missouri.
An unincorporated community in Madison County, North Carolina.
A city in Washington County, Utah.
A city in Putnam County, West Virginia.
An unincorporated community in Beetown, Grant County, Wisconsin.

Noun (3) capitalized: Hurricane

Hurricane (plural Hurricanes)

(historical) A British fighter aircraft used during World War II, especially during the Battle of Britain.

hurricane meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu and Bengali

hurricane in Hindi

weather phenomenon: तूफ़ान tūfān, चक्रवात cakravāt
meteorology: a wind scale for quite strong wind: चक्रवात cakravāt

hurricane in Tamil

weather phenomenon: புயல் puyal

hurricane in Urdu

آندھی, اندھر, طوفان

hurricane in Bengali

hurricane: হারিকেন harikeno

More languagesFewer languages

hurricane in Telugu: తుఫాను tuphānu
hurricane in Malayalam: ചുഴലിക്കാറ്റ് cuḻalikkāṟṟŭ
hurricane in Kannada: ಚಂಡಮಾರುತ caṇḍamāruta
hurricane in Punjabi: ਤੂਫ਼ਾਨ tūfān
hurricane in Gujarati: હરિકેન hariken
hurricane in Odia: ଘୂର୍ଣ୍ଣିବଳଯ଼
hurricane in Tagalog: bagyo
hurricane in Arabic: زَوْبَعَة شَدِيدَة zawbaʕa šadīda, إِعْصَار ʔiʕṣār
hurricane in Malay: hurikan
hurricane in Indonesian: hurikan
hurricane in Thai: เฮอริเคน həə-rí-keen
hurricane in Vietnamese: bão, bão táp, bão tố
hurricane in Myanmar: လေမုန်တိုင်း lemuntuing:

Examples of hurricane in a sentence

At Grenada the gale was described as more severe than any that had been experienced since the hurricane of 1780.1831, Account of the Fatal Hurricane, by which Barbados Suffered in August 1831: To Which is Prefixed a Succinct Narrative of the...
The vortex is a spinning, cyclonic mass of fluid, which can be observed in the rotation of water going down a drain, as well as in smoke rings, tornados and hurricanes.2013 March, Frank Fish, George Lauder, “Not Just Going with the Flow”, in American Scientist, volume 101, number 2, archived from the...
A movement of women who wanted to win greater rights had to be able to move forward against a hurricane of lesbian-baiting from the political establishment of the Cold War capitalists.2006 February 5, Leslie Feinberg, “Lesbian organizing and 'red feminism'”, in Workers World:
He is substituting for Rudy Black, who is our Resource Manager, who was hurricaned out of an appearance today because he could not get back from vacation.1980, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, Hearings, Reports and Prints of the House Committee on...

All 40 example sentences with hurricane

Synonyms of hurricane

Forms of hurricane

Noun
plural	hurricanes
alternative form	hero-cane
alternative form	hurrican
plural	Hurricanes
Verb
third-person singular present	hurricanes
present participle	hurricaning
past participle	hurricaned
past	hurricaned

Plural of hurricane: hurricanes

Origin of hurricane

Borrowed from Spanish huracán, ultimately from Taíno *hurakā.

Coined by Jeret Peterson.

Phrases with hurricane

Questions about hurricane

What does hurricane mean?: Hurricane means a severe tropical cyclone; an intense storm rotating around a central eye.
What is hurricane in Hindi?: Hurricane in Hindi is तूफ़ान (tūfān), चक्रवात (cakravāt). See Hurricane meaning in Hindi.
How do you use hurricane in a sentence?: At Grenada the gale was described as more severe than any that had been experienced since the hurricane of 1780.
What part of speech is hurricane?: Hurricane can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce hurricane?: Hurricane is pronounced /ˈhʌɹɪkən/ (UK).
What is the plural of hurricane?: The plural of hurricane is hurricanes.

Words near hurricane in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: hurricane (page history and authors); Hurricane (page history and authors); hurricane (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); হারিকেন (Bengali) (page history and authors); తుఫాను (Telugu) (page history and authors); હરિકેન (Gujarati) (page history and authors); hurricane (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Back ache-hurricane.wav, En-us-ne-hurricane.ogg, En-us-hurricane.ogg.

Cite this entry: “hurricane.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/hurricane. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.