The DICT Development Group
4 definitions found
for Whirlwind
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :
Whirlwind \Whirl"wind`\, n. [Cf. Icel. hvirfilvindr, Sw.
hvirfvelvind, Dan. hvirvelvind, G. wirbelwind. See Whirl,
and Wind, n.]
[1913 Webster]
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.
[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]
2. Fig.: A body of objects sweeping violently onward. "The
whirlwind of hounds and hunters." --Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) :
whirlwind
n 1: a more or less vertical column of air whirling around
itself as it moves over the surface of the Earth
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 :
58 Moby Thesaurus words for "whirlwind":
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
From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018) :
Whirlwind
An early computer from the MIT Research Laboratory
for Electronics.
Whirlwind used electrostatic memory and ran Laning and
Zierler (1953); and ALGEBRAIC, COMPREHENSIVE and SUMMER
SESSION (all 1959).
[Details, reference?]
(2002-06-03)
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