tornado

noun

tor·​na·​do tȯr-ˈnā-(ˌ)dō 

plural tornadoes or tornados

1

a

: a violent destructive whirling wind accompanied by a funnel-shaped cloud that progresses in a narrow path over the land

b

: a squall accompanying a thunderstorm in Africa

2

: a violent windstorm : whirlwind

3

archaic : a tropical thunderstorm

Examples of tornado in a Sentence

in the path of a tornado

Recent Examples on the Web

Just like there's a classification system for hurricanes and tornadoes, space weather storms that develop and pose threats to Earth have their own classification system. —Meredith Garofalo, Space.com, 9 Feb. 2025

The weather service said the EF1 tornado in Thorn Hill had estimated top winds of 110 mph. —Brian Dakss, CBS News, 7 Feb. 2025

Several tornadoes have touched down in Morgan County since 1965, including an F3 in 2002 that killed seven people some 20 miles southeast of Deer Lodge and an EF1 tornado last year in Sunbright. —Andy Rose, CNN, 7 Feb. 2025

Severe weather alerts notify you about lightning strikes, heavy rainfall, and incoming storms, while detailed overlays track hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, air quality, and more. —New Atlas, 2 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

modification of Spanish tronada thunderstorm, from tronar to thunder, from Latin tonare — more at thunder entry 1

First Known Use

1556, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Kids Definition

tornado

noun

tor·​na·​do tȯr-ˈnād-ō 

plural tornadoes or tornados

: a violent destructive whirling wind accompanied by a funnel-shaped cloud that moves in a narrow path over the land