El Niño

noun

El Ni·​ño el-ˈnē-nyō 

plural El Niños

: an irregularly recurring flow of unusually warm surface waters from the Pacific Ocean toward and along the western coast of South America that prevents upwelling of nutrient-rich cold deep water and that disrupts typical regional and global weather patterns compare la niña

Did you know?

Each year around Christmas time, a warm equatorial current flows southward along the coast of Peru. In the 19th century, Peruvian fisherman named that annual current "El Niño" in honor of the Christ child (el niño means "the child" in Spanish). Later, when scientists noted that in some years this warm current flow is more intense than usual, they adopted the name and applied it to that more potent but erratic climatic phenomenon. Now El Niño is used almost exclusively for the severe episodes rather than for the annual ones to which it was originally applied.

Examples of El Niño in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And with this year’s ‘super El Nino’ expected to bring flash floods and landslides to Kenya, thousands of workers in Nairobi have been preparing. — John Otis, NPR, 29 Oct. 2026

And El Nino is supposed to keep west Africa hot and dry through the winter. — Arkansas Online, 28 Oct. 2026

El Nino has its strongest effects on the Northern Hemisphere during winter, and this outlook aligns with what can typically be expected during this weather event. — ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026

Recently, the sector has been affected by El Nino, which brings weak monsoons and dry weather, reducing yields and sucrose recovery. — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, literally, the child (i.e., the Christ child); from the appearance of the flow at the Christmas season

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

El Niño

noun

El Ni·​ño el-ˈnē-nyō 

plural El Niños

: an irregularly occurring flow of unusually warm surface water along the western coast of South America that disrupts the normal regional and global weather patterns compare la niña

Etymology

Spanish, "the child" (referring to the Christ child); from the appearance of the flow at the Christmas season