tornado

noun

tor·​na·​do tȯr-ˈnā-(ˌ)dō 

plural tornadoes or tornados

1

a

: a violent destructive whirling wind accompanied by a funnel-shaped cloud that progresses in a narrow path over the land

b

: a squall accompanying a thunderstorm in Africa

2

: a violent windstorm : whirlwind

3

archaic : a tropical thunderstorm

Examples of tornado in a Sentence

in the path of a tornado

Recent Examples on the Web

These storms will make their way east throughout the afternoon into the evening, with some becoming strong enough to produce damaging wind gusts, large hail, and maybe an isolated tornado. —Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 3 May 2025

States in the Mid-Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee valleys, stretching all the way into parts of Pennsylvania and western New York, could see thunderstorms, damaging winds, hail and a possible isolated tornado, the weather service said. —Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 2 May 2025

These storms could bring strong winds, hail, and possibly an isolated tornado. —Joe Edwards, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 May 2025

Severe thunderstorm warnings and several tornado warnings populated across the state Tuesday evening, causing power outages to more than 566,000 customers as winds whipped through the area, Poweroutage.us shows. —Mary Gilbert, CNN Money, 29 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

modification of Spanish tronada thunderstorm, from tronar to thunder, from Latin tonare — more at thunder entry 1

First Known Use

1556, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Rhymes for tornado

• afterglow
• akimbo
• albino
• aliquot
• allegro
• amigo
• apropos
• audio
• bungalow
• calico
• calypso
• cameo

Kids Definition

tornado

noun

tor·​na·​do tȯr-ˈnād-ō 

plural tornadoes or tornados

: a violent destructive whirling wind accompanied by a funnel-shaped cloud that moves in a narrow path over the land