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

The current El Nino is expected to rank as among the most intense since the weather service began tracking the phenomenon in 1950, experts said. — Tammy Webber, Chicago Tribune, 1 Aug. 2026

Williams said El Nino could increase fires in the Amazon region, Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. — Seth Borenstein, Fortune, 29 July 2026

Forecasters have called for below normal activity due to the presence of El Nino, but such information shouldn’t prompt anyone to let their guard down. — Marshall Shepherd, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

Meteorologists attribute the deluge in Chile to the return of El Nino, a powerful, naturally occurring phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean that drives temperatures higher and exacerbates extreme weather events. — ABC News, 21 July 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

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

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