dust bowl

noun

: a region that suffers from prolonged droughts and dust storms

Example Sentences

They left the dust bowl and moved west.
Recent Examples on the Web Which is why the 71-year-old first lady of the United States is here in this dust bowl swarming with biting black flies, gulping down bottled water after spending 90 minutes completely outdoors in the blazing African heat. Jada Yuan, Washington Post, 24 Feb. 2023 The mega-droughts that occurred a millinium ago make the 1930s dust bowl look like childs play. Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 15 Apr. 2015 This surpassed the previous record of 64.7°F set in 1934, during the dust bowl era. Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 8 June 2018 There was the time the windshield on our 1995 Chevy Cavalier started flapping like an old cellar door with the approach of a dust bowl tornado. Paul Eisenberg, Chicago Tribune, 25 Dec. 2022 Homer has never been better than in O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the Coen brothers' reimagining of The Odyssey as early Americana in the depression-era dust bowl. Tim Moffatt, EW.com, 16 Dec. 2022 The drought withered their crops, starved their animals and transformed their modest farm into a howling dust bowl. Declan Walsh Andrea Bruce, New York Times, 21 Nov. 2022 In the world of Interstellar, Earth's future is bleak as a global crop blight and a second dust bowl threaten to render the planet uninhabitable. Robert Anderson, PCMAG, 9 Nov. 2022 Bancroft has labored to ensure the area is remembered as more than just a dust bowl, goading California to recognize Owens Lake as a historic district with deep cultural significance. Leia Larsen, The Salt Lake Tribune, 10 Oct. 2022 See More

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

Word History

First Known Use

1935, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dust bowl was in 1935

Dictionary Entries Near dust bowl

Cite this Entry

“Dust bowl.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dust%20bowl. Accessed 30 May. 2023.

Kids Definition

dust bowl

noun
: a region that suffers from long droughts and dust storms

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