monsoon

mon·soon

noun \män-ˈsün, ˈmän-ˌ\

Definition of MONSOON

1

: a periodic wind especially in the Indian Ocean and southern Asia

2

: the season of the southwest monsoon in India and adjacent areas that is characterized by very heavy rainfall

3

: rainfall that is associated with the monsoon

— mon·soon·al \-ˈsü-n^əl, -ˌsü-\ adjective

Examples of MONSOON

1. floods caused by summer monsoons

Origin of MONSOON

obsolete Dutch monssoen, from Portuguese monção, from Arabic mawsim time, season

First Known Use: 1584

Other Climate/Meteorology Terms

occlusion, ozone, rime, squall, zephyr

Rhymes with MONSOON

aswoon, attune, baboon, balloon, bassoon, blue moon, buffoon, Calhoun, Cancún, cardoon, cartoon, cocoon, commune, doubloon, dragoon, festoon, fine-tune, forenoon, full moon, gaboon, gadroon, galloon, Gudrun, half-moon, harpoon, high noon, immune, impugn, jargoon, jejune, Kowloon, Kunlun, lagoon, lampoon, lardoon, Maine coon, maroon, Neptune, new moon, oppugn, Pashtun, patroon, platoon, poltroon, pontoon, premune, puccoon, quadroon, ratoon, repugn, rough-hewn, saloon, Sassoon, shalloon, soupspoon, spittoon, spontoon, teaspoon, tribune, triune, tuchun, tycoon, typhoon, untune, Walloon

monsoon

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Major wind system that seasonally reverses its direction (e.g., one that blows for six months from the northeast and six months from the southwest). The most prominent examples occur in Africa and southern Asia. The primary cause of monsoons is the difference between annual temperature trends over land and sea. Seasonal changes in temperature are large over land but small over oceans. A monsoon blows from cold toward warm regions: from sea toward land in summer and from land toward sea in winter. Most summer monsoons produce copious amounts of rain; winter monsoons tend to cause drought.