Main Entry:

¹av·a·lanche

Pronunciation:

\ˈa-və-ˌlanch\

Function:

noun

Etymology:

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

Date:

1771

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 : a cumulative process in which photons or accelerated charge carriers produce additional photons or charge carriers through collisions (as with gas molecules)