Main Entry: ¹av·a·lanche

Pronunciation: \ˈa-və-ˌlanch\

Function: noun

Etymology: French, from French dial. (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)