hurricane

HUR-i-kayn/ˈhɝɪkeɪn/UKHUR-i-kuhn/ˈhʌɹɪkən/

Pluralhurricanes

Verbhurricanes, hurricaning, hurricaned

13 meanings of hurricane

Practice

1
nouncountable
A very big, powerful storm with strong spinning winds and heavy rain that forms over warm ocean water.
Like a giant spinning top made of wind and rain.
The hurricane knocked down trees all over town.
We stayed inside and listened to the wind as the hurricane passed over our city.
Similarcyclone, typhoon
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2
nouncountable
A powerful spinning storm in the Atlantic Ocean or eastern Pacific with winds of at least 74 miles per hour.
The hurricane hit Florida with very strong winds and heavy rain.
A hurricane formed in the Gulf of Mexico last week.
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3
nounfigurativelycountable
A sudden, powerful rush of things or feelings that come all at once.
A hurricane of questions hit the teacher when class ended.
She felt a hurricane of emotions on her wedding day.
Similarstorm, torrent, whirlwind, barrage, flood
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4
nouncountable
A sweet alcoholic drink made with rum, fruit juice, and fruit syrup.
She ordered a hurricane at the bar by the beach.
The bartender mixed two hurricanes for the tourists.
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5
verbintransitive
To move fast and loudly in a way that makes everyone notice you.
She hurricaned into the kitchen, shouting about her big news.
Don't hurricane through the house when we have guests.
Similarstorm, sweep, barrel, blow, whirl
Oppositetiptoe, creep
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6
verbintransitive
To try to do many things at once in a wild, rushed way.
We had to hurricane through our chores before the visitors arrived.
He hurricaned around the apartment, packing for the morning flight.
Similarrace, rush, tear, blitz, power
Oppositedawdle, plod
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7
verbtransitive
To tear something apart in a wild and violent way.
Wind this strong can hurricane a beach umbrella in seconds.
The toddler hurricaned the carefully sorted laundry in under a minute.
Similarransack, wreck, trash, ravage, demolish
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8
verbintransitive
To spin around very fast and with great force.
Dry leaves hurricaned across the empty parking lot.
Snow can hurricane around tall buildings on windy days.
Similarswirl, whirl, spiral, eddy
9
verbtransitive
To cause a lot of noise, anger, or excitement among people.
The surprise announcement hurricaned the whole office.
News like that can hurricane an entire town.
Similarrock, convulse, shake, roil, agitate
Oppositecalm, soothe
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10
verbtransitive or intransitive
To blow extremely hard, with heavy rain, thunder, and lightning.
It hurricaned all night, and we lost power before midnight.
When storms hurricane like this, stay away from the windows.
Similarstorm, blow
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Less common meanings

11
verbintransitive
To shout and show anger in a wild, stormy way.
Grandpa hurricaned about the broken fence for a full hour.
There's no need to hurricane every time the bus is late.
Similarrage, storm, rant, rail, fume
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12
verbtransitive
To chase someone or something wildly and push them forward with force.
The dog hurricaned the geese across the yard and into the pond.
Older kids would hurricane the younger ones down the hallway at recess.
Similarhustle, drive, herd, rush, chivvy
13
nouncountable
A very difficult ski trick where the skier does three flips and five twists in the air.
Only a few skiers in the world can land a hurricane.
She practiced the hurricane over water before trying it on snow.
Note

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of hurricane apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–12

It comes from Spanish 'huracán', which came from the Taíno word '*hurakā'.

Meaning 13

It was made up by Jeret Peterson.