The Collaborative Dictionary

Whirlwind \Whirl"wind`\, n. [Cf. Icel. hvirfilvindr, Sw. hvirfvelvind, Dan. hvirvelvind, G. wirbelwind. See Whirl, and Wind, n.] [1913 Webster]

A violent windstorm of limited extent, as the tornado, characterized by an inward spiral motion of the air with an upward current in the center; a vortex of air. It usually has a rapid progressive motion. [1913 Webster] The swift dark whirlwind that uproots the woods. And drowns the villages. --Bryant. [1913 Webster] Note: Some meteorologists apply the word whirlwind to the larger rotary storm also, such as cyclones. [1913 Webster]

Fig.: A body of objects sweeping violently onward. "The whirlwind of hounds and hunters." --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]

Word Net

whirlwind n : a more or less vertical column of air whirling around itself as it moves over the surface of the Earth

Moby Thesaurus

Charybdis, ado, baguio, blaze, burst, bustle, convulsion, cyclone, dizzy round, dust devil, eddy, eruption, explosion, fit, flare-up, flurry, furore, fuss, gale, gurge, gust, gyre, hurricane, irruption, maelstrom, outbreak, outburst, paroxysm, pirouette, pother, rainspout, rat race, reel, rotary storm, round, sand column, sandspout, seizure, spasm, spin, storm, surge, swirl, tempest, tornado, turn, twirl, twister, typhoon, upheaval, vortex, waterspout, wheel, whirl, whirlblast, whirlpool, whirly, wind eddy

English

Noun

1. A violent windstorm of limited extent, as the tornado, characterized by an inward spiral motion of the air with an upward current in the center; a vortex of air. It usually has a rapid progressive motion.
2. A body of objects or events sweeping violently onward.

   The weeks leading up to the convention were a whirlwind of preparation and hurried activity.

Derived terms

• sow the wind, reap the whirlwind

Translations