avalanche

1 of 2

noun

av·a·lanche ˈa-və-ˌlanch

Synonyms of avalanche next

: a large mass of snow, ice, earth, rock, or other material in swift motion down a mountainside or over a precipice

: a sudden great or overwhelming rush or accumulation of something

hit by an avalanche of paperwork

physics : a cumulative process in which photons or accelerated charge carriers produce additional photons or charge carriers through collisions (as with gas molecules)

avalanche

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verb

avalanched; avalanching

intransitive verb

: to descend in an avalanche

Snow avalanched down the mountain.

transitive verb

: overwhelm, flood

The office was avalanched with applications.

Example Sentences

Noun He was buried by an avalanche.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Pyroclastic surges — where hot ash and lava rushes down the side of a volcano like an avalanche traveling at more than 50mph — destroyed almost everything in their path. —

Patrick Smith, NBC News, 17 May 2023 When avalanches buried Highway 395 and toppled power lines near Mono Lake, the team flew over the area and mapped the snow, turning over the data to Caltrans and Southern California Edison. —

Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 15 May 2023 The dangers of guiding climbers to the world’s highest peak, with the ever-present possibility of falls, avalanches and extreme weather, are evident. —

Mujib Mashal, New York Times, 7 May 2023 Kaji Sherpa survived one of the deadliest disasters on Everest, when an avalanche in 2014 killed 16 Sherpas. —

Mujib Mashal, BostonGlobe.com, 7 May 2023 The Colorado Avalanche Information Center reports that an average of 27 people die from being caught in avalanches in the United States each winter. —

Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 6 May 2023 They have been selected, in both body form and behavior, to retrieve dead ducks, herd sheep, drag badgers from their holes, haul sledges and even deliver brandy to avalanche victims. —

Jerry A. Coyne, Washington Post, 3 May 2023 Early in the morning, my husband took off for the first day of his avalanche safety course. —

Alli Harvey, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Apr. 2023 At least seven people were killed in an avalanche that struck India's northeastern state of Sikkim on Tuesday. —

Jason Hahn, Peoplemag, 4 Apr. 2023

Verb

James and the Lakers were getting avalanched, but a run to undo a 17-point deficit got them to within a point before the Memphis Grizzlies smothered them with a barrage of baskets. —

Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2023 The hillsides along Summit Lake will avalanche. —

John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Apr. 2022 That a bunch of boys will insincerely avalanche into girls sports in order to gain some competitive advantage, to slake some hearty thirst for winning? —

Gordon Monson, The Salt Lake Tribune, 17 Feb. 2022 And many of those paths, some of which are accessible from the Humphreys Peak trail, will avalanche every year. —

Shanti Lerner, The Arizona Republic, 4 Aug. 2021 Many of these rocks have avalanched from the walls of steep mountains. —

Anchorage Daily News, 16 Nov. 2019 Early pioneers of universality, led by the physicist Leo Kadanoff, discovered that systems as different as avalanching sand piles and magnetizing metals all operate on multiple scales. —

Quanta Magazine, 31 July 2019 Just look at any photo of Gritty: his lidless, spinning eyes; his inert tongue; his unshaven beard which avalanches over his collarbone, like a Portland bartender’s. —

Jason Gay, WSJ, 27 Sep. 2018 Conspiracy mogul Alex Jones’s gruff voice avalanched out of the speakers and declared war on globalists and labeled Hillary Clinton a criminal who needed to be locked away. —

Longreads, 31 Oct. 2017 See More

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