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

The heat domes tend to form where the jet stream turns northward, moving up and over the dome itself and leading to strong flows of hot air from the south to the north near the Earth’s surface. — Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 1 July 2026

Meanwhile, the jet stream — following the arc around the heat dome — is carrying wildfire smoke up north to Minnesota and the Upper Midwest from raging wildfires in Utah, Arizona and Colorado. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026

Meteorologists expect the jet stream to shift just a bit starting late in the week and progressing through the weekend, AccuWeather said. — Doyle Rice, USA Today, 1 July 2026

The turbulence is often a result of jet streams — layers of air masses flowing at varying speeds — that differ in temperature. — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 25 June 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