La Niña

noun

La Ni·​ña lä-ˈnē-nyə How to pronounce La Niña (audio) -nyä How to pronounce La Niña (audio)
plural La Niñas
: an irregularly recurring upwelling of unusually cold water to the ocean surface along the western coast of South America that often occurs following an El Niño and that disrupts typical regional and global weather patterns especially in a manner opposite to that of El Niño

Examples of La Niña in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The 2024 season was always projected to be quite active due to anomalously warm sea surface temperatures, La Nina and other factors. Marshall Shepherd, Forbes, 5 Oct. 2024 Rising temperatures, frosts in Brazil, three consecutive years of La Nina and other extreme weather have been hurting coffee production in recent years, putting pressure on supply. Amelia Lucas, CNBC, 3 Oct. 2024 With a forecasted La Nina — a temporary natural cooling of parts of the central Pacific — the last four months of the year may no longer be record-setters like most of the past year and a half. Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 6 Sep. 2024 The National Weather Service predictions for the winter are favoring a La Nina pattern, which indicates cooler and wetter weather, said NWS meteorologist Crystal Oudit. Caelyn Pender, The Mercury News, 4 Sep. 2024 The La Nina climate pattern tends to boost Atlantic hurricane activity. Gabe Hauari, USA TODAY, 4 Sep. 2024 Experts believe some of this improvement can be attributed to the La Nina climate cycle, which generally brings cooler temperatures and less rainfall. Christine Condon, Baltimore Sun, 31 July 2024 The La Nina weather pattern is expected to arrive soon, which is likely to fuel storms in the Atlantic during this year’s hurricane season. Nerdwallet, The Mercury News, 30 July 2024 The combination of a coming La Nina and an already warm ocean likely spells an active season, McNoldy said. Alex Harris, Miami Herald, 27 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'La Niña.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, the (female) child

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of La Niña was in 1981

Dictionary Entries Near La Niña

Cite this Entry

“La Niña.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/La%20Ni%C3%B1a. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

La Niña

noun
La Ni·​ña lä-ˈnē-nyə How to pronounce La Niña (audio) -nyä How to pronounce La Niña (audio)
: an irregularly occurring movement of deep cold water to the ocean surface along the western coast of South America that often occurs after an El Niño and that disrupts weather patterns especially in a manner opposite that of an El Niño
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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