water cycle

noun

: hydrologic cycle

In the water cycle, water evaporates, condenses, falls as precipitation, and eventually evaporates again.

—Timothy Cooney et al.

As they have for thousands of years, the rhythms of wildlife migration and reproduction as well as human agriculture and grazing activities are inseparable from that of the yearly water cycle.

—Peter Warshall

… run by solar energy that helps cause winds, energizes plants, and powers the water cycle.

—David M. Armstrong et al.

Examples of water cycle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The evidence in the study suggests that some of the PFAS that end up in South Florida are carried over vast distances in the atmosphere via the water cycle. —Bill Kearney, Sun Sentinel, 11 Nov. 2024

This speeds up Earth’s water cycle, sending more water into the air for precipitation but drying out some land areas. —Hayleigh Evans, The Arizona Republic, 11 Nov. 2024

More extreme rainfall events could be expected in the Sahara in the future, according to recent research, as fossil fuel pollution continues to heat up the planet and disrupt the water cycle. —Laura Paddison, CNN, 14 Oct. 2024

For Michael Rawlins, a professor at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst who studies the water cycle, the increase in historic deluges feel almost karmic. —Marina Koren, The Atlantic, 20 June 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1894, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

water cycle

noun

: hydrologic cycle