trade wind

noun

: a wind blowing almost constantly in one direction

especially : a wind blowing almost continually toward the equator from the northeast in the belt between the northern horse latitudes and the doldrums and from the southeast in the belt between the southern horse latitudes and the doldrums

—usually used in plural

Examples of trade wind in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

El Niño is a climate pattern characterized by warmer ocean waters in the central and eastern tropical Pacific, coupled with changing atmospheric conditions, in which the typical east-to-west trade winds weaken or even reverse. — Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2026

When an El Niño strengthens, trade winds weaken and ocean temperatures warm near and to the east of Hawaii, Malte Stuecker, director of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa's International Pacific Research Center, previously told USA TODAY. — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026

El Niños are natural climate phenomena that occur every 2 to 7 years when the normally predictable trade winds that blow east to west over the equator slow down. — Story Hinckley, Christian Science Monitor, 10 Aug. 2026

Under normal conditions, steady trade winds blow from east to west along the equator, pushing warm surface water toward Indonesia. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1615, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for trade wind

• underpinned
• chagrined
• downwind
• rescind
• upwind
• whirlwind
• woodwind
• finned
• ginned
• grinned
• pinned
• sinned

Kids Definition

trade wind

noun

: a wind blowing almost constantly toward the equator from an easterly direction