avalanche

1 of 2

noun

av·​a·​lanche ˈa-və-ˌlanch How to pronounce avalanche (audio)
1
: a large mass of snow, ice, earth, rock, or other material in swift motion down a mountainside or over a precipice
2
: a sudden great or overwhelming rush or accumulation of something
hit by an avalanche of paperwork
3
physics : a cumulative process in which photons or accelerated charge carriers produce additional photons or charge carriers through collisions (as with gas molecules)

avalanche

2 of 2

verb

avalanched; avalanching

intransitive verb

: to descend in an avalanche
Snow avalanched down the mountain.

transitive verb

: overwhelm, flood
The office was avalanched with applications.

Examples of avalanche in a Sentence

Noun He was buried by an avalanche.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Miko recently started therapy to cope with the avalanche of changes in her life — playing in front of massive crowds and following a demanding schedule among them. Frances Solá-Santiago, Rolling Stone, 13 Mar. 2024 His friend skied down first and watched as the avalanche was triggered and overtook Burks. CBS News, 12 Mar. 2024 The outpouring of love and appreciation for Richard in all media since his death was announced is equaled only by the avalanche of sadness at the news. Elayne Boosler, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024 Hurricane-level gales and steady snowfalls rocked the Sierra Nevada Mountains on Thursday but marked only the beginning of a blizzard that potentially could shatter weather records and send avalanches gushing through backcountry this weekend. Angela Rodriguez, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2024 Up to 20 inches of snow is forecast to fall in northwest Colorado through early Saturday morning and may cause avalanches in the mountains near Steamboat Springs. Katie Langford, The Denver Post, 15 Feb. 2024 The eastern Sierra Nevada had high danger for avalanches through Sunday evening, the NWS Reno office said. Anthony Robledo, USA TODAY, 2 Mar. 2024 The Reno forecast office also issued a backcountry avalanche warning through 5 p.m. on Sunday for the Central Sierra slopes, and advised against travel there. Don Clyde, NPR, 2 Mar. 2024 The Sierra Avalanche Center in Truckee also issued a backcountry avalanche warning in the Greater Lake Tahoe area until 5 p.m. Sunday. Salvador Hernandez, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2024
Verb
The distinctive light green of aspen leaves in summer, set off from the deep greens of conifers such as lodgepole pines, frequently marks the zones where winter snow is unstable and tends to avalanche. Michael C Grant, Discover Magazine, 11 Nov. 2019 James and the Lakers were getting avalanched, but a run to undo a 17-point deficit got them to within a point before the Memphis Grizzlies smothered them with a barrage of baskets. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2023 The hillsides along Summit Lake will avalanche. John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Apr. 2022 That a bunch of boys will insincerely avalanche into girls sports in order to gain some competitive advantage, to slake some hearty thirst for winning? Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 Feb. 2022 And many of those paths, some of which are accessible from the Humphreys Peak trail, will avalanche every year. Shanti Lerner, The Arizona Republic, 4 Aug. 2021 Many of these rocks have avalanched from the walls of steep mountains. Anchorage Daily News, 16 Nov. 2019 Early pioneers of universality, led by the physicist Leo Kadanoff, discovered that systems as different as avalanching sand piles and magnetizing metals all operate on multiple scales. Quanta Magazine, 31 July 2019 Just look at any photo of Gritty: his lidless, spinning eyes; his inert tongue; his unshaven beard which avalanches over his collarbone, like a Portland bartender’s. Jason Gay, WSJ, 27 Sep. 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'avalanche.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

French, from French dialect (Franco-Provençal) lavantse, avalantse

First Known Use

Noun

1744, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1826, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Time Traveler
The first known use of avalanche was in 1744

Dictionary Entries Near avalanche

Cite this Entry

“Avalanche.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/avalanche. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

avalanche

noun
av·​a·​lanche
ˈav-ə-ˌlanch
1
: a large mass of snow and ice or of earth and rock sliding down a mountainside
2
: a sudden large amount
an avalanche of words
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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