perfect storm

noun

|Updated on: 1 Aug 2018

Definition of perfect storm

: a critical or disastrous situation created by a powerful concurrence of factors

Recent Examples of perfect storm from the Web

But the live nature of Fortnite’s rocket launch, combined with the sheer scale of the game, have resulted in a perfect storm.

— andrew webster, The Verge, "Fortnite has the most interesting video game story in years," 2 July 2018
But Abloh, unlike Boateng, has what Agins considers the perfect storm that is only possible in 2018: the power of social media, marketing, and celebrity.

— refinery29.com, "Before Virgil Abloh, There Was Ozwald Boateng," 21 June 2018
And in some respects the 48th, with its weak but universally known incumbent Republican (Rohrabacher), its viable GOP challenger (Baugh) and its multiple warring Democrats, is a perfect storm for the lockout scenario.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "How 3 Races in California Could Cost Democrats Control of the House of Representatives," 2 June 2018
Experts attribute the relatively sluggish market to a perfect storm of factors—including, well, storms.

— chris taylor, Fortune, "Why Your Summer House Could Be a Shaky Investment," 29 May 2018
But there hadn't been a perfect storm like this season when Mainieri lost his starting pitching and his five best position players to the draft.

— ron higgins, NOLA.com, "LSU lives to fight another weekend after SEC championship game loss," 27 May 2018
Just the perfect storm of them coming in, having a great team, a great front office, and an ownership that really embraced the city of Vegas.

— bob nightengale, USA TODAY, "Bryce Harper's love affair with his Vegas Golden Knights - and hockey - goes into overtime," 15 May 2018
What’s fairly clear is that Monday night was the result of a perfect storm.

— peter schmuck, baltimoresun.com, "Schmuck: Orioles' record low in attendance Monday the result of a perfect storm," 10 Apr. 2018
This elimination was the culmination of kinda of a perfect storm of bad timing and bad events.

— ale russian, PEOPLE.com, "The Challenge: Vendettas' Johnny Bananas Says Tony Raines Will Pay For His Decision," 7 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'perfect storm.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.