jet stream

noun

: a long narrow meandering current of high-speed winds near the tropopause blowing from a generally westerly direction and often exceeding a speed of 250 miles (402 kilometers) per hour

Examples of jet stream in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

This indirectly influences the polar jet stream, a band of wind that circles the entire polar region in the troposphere—the lowest layer of the atmosphere, where most of our weather happens. — Jackie Flynn Mogensen, Scientific American, 4 Nov. 2026

Patterns like this that hold in place for a week or more are exceptional at squeezing out oceanic moisture in the form of atmospheric rivers – strings of the jet stream that become saturated with relentless rain. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 4 Nov. 2026

El Niño is a tropical Pacific climate pattern that weakens trade winds, shifts jet streams, and can increase the risk of flooding, droughts, and wildfires. — Cindy Carcamo, Christian Science Monitor, 2 Nov. 2026

El Niño’s influence on US weather is strongest in winter, when the jet stream — a fast-moving current of air that helps steer storms — typically shifts south and extends east across North America. — Sam Hart, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for jet stream

• abeam
• airstream
• bloodstream
• daydream
• downstream
• esteem
• extreme
• grapheme
• hakim
• hornbeam
• lexeme
• mainstream

Kids Definition

jet stream

noun

: a long narrow wandering current of high-speed winds blowing from a generally westerly direction several miles above the earth's surface