monsoon

noun

mon·​soon män-ˈsün How to pronounce monsoon (audio)
ˈmän-ˌsün
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
monsoonal
män-ˈsü-nᵊl How to pronounce monsoon (audio)
ˈmän-ˌsü-
adjective

Examples of monsoon in a Sentence

floods caused by summer monsoons
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Mearns quail, also called Montezuma quail, live in the foothills of southern Arizona’s Sky Island ranges and rely more on summer monsoon rains. Brandon Loomis, AZCentral.com, 9 Sep. 2025 Pakistan has experienced a series of deadly floods through the summer monsoon season, but a fresh deluge of heavy rain in early September intensified the humanitarian crisis. Shannon K. Kingston, ABC News, 9 Sep. 2025 At high elevations, cold air turns heavy monsoon precipitation into snowfall that sustains the ice. Bojan Stojkovski, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2025 The fire season was also worsened by a late and sporadic monsoon season, said Nikolai Balashov, a meteorologist for the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center. Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 29 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for monsoon

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

1584, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of monsoon was in 1584

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Monsoon.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/monsoon. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

monsoon

noun
mon·​soon män-ˈsün How to pronounce monsoon (audio)
1
: a periodic wind in the Indian Ocean and southern Asia
2
: the rainy season that accompanies the southwest monsoon
3
: rainfall that is associated with the monsoon season

More from Merriam-Webster on monsoon

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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