jet stream

noun

: a long narrow meandering current of high-speed winds near the tropopause blowing from a generally westerly direction and often exceeding a speed of 250 miles (402 kilometers) per hour

Examples of jet stream in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The upper-level trough that lingered over the East Coast took shape in tandem with a dip in the jet stream, which together produced a low-pressure area close to the surface of the ocean just several hundred miles from land, said Rosencrans. —Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 25 Nov. 2025

In northern winters, the vortex often expands, pushing Arctic air southward along the jet stream, which regularly brings severe cold outbreaks to the United States. —Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean, 21 Nov. 2025

This rapid warming disrupts normal wind patterns, ultimately weakening the polar vortex and allowing the jet stream to move more erratically. —Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2025

The jet stream doesn’t flow in that direction. —Josef Adalian, Vulture, 20 Nov. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1947, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for jet stream

• abeam
• airstream
• bloodstream
• daydream
• downstream
• esteem
• extreme
• grapheme
• hakim
• hornbeam
• lexeme
• mainstream

Kids Definition

jet stream

noun

: a long narrow wandering current of high-speed winds blowing from a generally westerly direction several miles above the earth's surface