# cloud

Pronunciation: say "KLOWD" /klaʊd/

## Noun

1. A visible mass of tiny water droplets or ice crystals that floats suspended in the air.
   - Simple: A white or gray mass of tiny drops of water or bits of ice that floats in the sky.
   - _A single cloud cast a moving shadow over the valley._
   - _Layers of thin clouds spread across the morning sky._
2. The internet or a remote network, seen as a shared place for storing data and running programs.
   - Simple: Computers on the internet where you can keep files and run programs instead of on your own device.
   - _The company moved its entire database to the cloud last year._
   - _Most modern apps sync your data through the cloud automatically._
3. A mass of smoke, steam, dust, insects, or other small things gathered or floating in the air.
   - Simple: A large amount of smoke, dust, steam, insects, or similar things together in the air.
   - _A cloud of steam billowed from the factory chimney._
   - _The volcano sent up huge clouds of ash._
4. Something that causes gloom, worry or suspicion, as in cast a cloud over, under a cloud.
   - Simple: Something that makes a situation feel sad, worried or doubtful.
   - _News of the layoffs cast a cloud over the company's holiday party._
   - _A cloud of suspicion hung over the department after the missing funds were discovered._
7. An oval shape or symbol whose outline is a row of semicircles, meant to resemble a cloud.
   - Simple: A rounded shape made of bumps along its edge, drawn to look like a cloud.
   - _The illustrator framed the hero's thoughts inside a cloud with a bumpy outline._
   - _Each annotation sat within a small cloud sketched along the margin of the blueprint._
13. A patch of darker color standing out against lighter material or a lighter background.
   - Simple: A dark mark or spot on a lighter surface.
   - _The old white horse had a gray cloud across one shoulder that made him easy to spot in the field._
   - _The cream-colored pot had a dark cloud on one side where the flames had touched it in the kiln._

## Verb

5. To make the mind, judgment or a matter less clear or harder to understand.
   - Simple: To make it harder to think clearly or to understand something.
   - _Exhaustion clouds the mind and slows reaction times._
   - _Painkillers can cloud a patient's awareness of time._
6. To become or make foggy, cloudy or hidden, as glass, the sky or the sun.
   - Simple: To become misty or covered, or to cover something so it is hard to see.
   - _Glass panels cloud over when warm air meets cold surfaces._
   - _The bathroom mirror clouded over the moment she turned on the hot shower, so she wiped it with a towel._
8. To make a person or mood gloomy, sullen, or downcast.
   - Simple: To make someone feel sad or gloomy.
   - _A single harsh comment from her boss can cloud her spirits for days._
   - _The bad news from home clouded her mood for the rest of the trip, though she tried to hide it._
9. To stain or tarnish a person's reputation or character.
   - Simple: To damage or stain someone's good name or reputation.
   - _Rumors of a bribe clouded the coach's reputation for years, even after an inquiry cleared him._
   - _Even unproven accusations can cloud a politician's reputation long after the headlines fade._
11. Of the breath, to condense into visible mist.
   - Simple: Of someone's breath, to turn into a small misty cloud in cold air.
   - _His breath clouded in the icy air while he waited for the bus._
   - _Step outside in midwinter and your breath will cloud instantly._
12. To mark or become marked with dark spots, streaks or veins of color.
   - Simple: To mark something with dark spots or lines of color, or to become marked this way.
   - _The orchid's pale green petals are clouded with deep purple spots that grow darker toward the center of the flower._
   - _Under the lamp, the jade carving looked pale green, clouded with darker streaks that ran through the stone._

## Noun

10. Something insubstantial; a thing without real solidity or lasting substance. *(rare)*
   - Simple: Something that seems real but has no weight or substance behind it.
14. A rock or boulder; also a hill. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A rock, a large boulder, or a hill.

## Other meanings

- (noun) Crystal methamphetamine, a powerful illegal stimulant.
- (noun) A humorous name for a white cat.
- (noun) A woman's large headscarf of loose, open knitting.

## Origin

From Middle English "cloud," from Old English "clūd" meaning a mass of stone, rock, boulder, or hill, going back through Proto-West Germanic "*klūt" and Proto-Germanic "*klūtaz" to a Proto-Indo-European root "*gel-" ("to ball up, clench"). It is related to English "clod," "clot," "clump," and "club," and it largely replaced the older Middle English word "wolken."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/cloud (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).