typhoon

noun

ty·​phoon tī-ˈfün 

1

: a hurricane occurring especially in the region of the Philippines or the East and South China seas

2

: whirlwind sense 2a

a typhoon of activity

Examples of typhoon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The average hurricane is about 300 miles (482 kilometers) wide, but hurricanes – or typhoons, as they’re called in the western Pacific of the Northern Hemisphere – can be much bigger or smaller. — Zachary Handlos, The Conversation, 12 Oct. 2026

In the northwest Pacific they are called typhoons and in the south Pacific and Indian oceans they are called cyclones or tropical cyclones. — ABC News, 9 Oct. 2026

Other major Chinese ports have felt the swell of containers, with Dimerco noting that ocean carriers have cut allocations and skipped calls at Qingdao to clear typhoon backlogs at southern ports. — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 29 Sep. 2026

Vietnam is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries and is prone to flooding, with a long typhoon-prone coastline and large populations living in low-lying areas and coastal cities. — Aniruddha Ghosal, Los Angeles Times, 18 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

alteration (influenced by Chin — Guangdong — daaih-fùng, from daaih big + fùng wind) of earlier touffon, from Arabic ṭūfān hurricane, from Greek typhōn violent storm

First Known Use

1771, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for typhoon

• attune
• baboon
• balloon
• bassoon
• buffoon
• cartoon
• cocoon
• festoon
• gaboon
• harpoon
• immune
• impugn

Kids Definition

typhoon

noun

ty·​phoon tī-ˈfün 

: a hurricane occurring in the region of the Philippines or the China Sea