water cycle

noun

Definition of water cycle

: hydrologic cycle In the water cycle, water evaporates, condenses, falls as precipitation, and eventually evaporates again.— Timothy Cooney et al. As they have for thousands of years, the rhythms of wildlife migration and reproduction as well as human agriculture and grazing activities are inseparable from that of the yearly water cycle.— Peter Warshall … run by solar energy that helps cause winds, energizes plants, and powers the water cycle.— David M. Armstrong et al.

Examples of water cycle in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Biology students may remember learning the water cycle, the carbon cycle or the nitrogen cycle. — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, "Airborne Microplastics ‘Now Spiral Around the Globe’," 15 Apr. 2021 The findings bolster projections that global warming will disrupt the water cycle that’s been relatively stable for at least the past few hundred years, said snow scientist Jeff Deems, part of the research team at the Western Water Assessment. — Bob Berwyn And Judy Fahys, The Arizona Republic, "New snowpack totals suggest the 20-year Western drought will persist, intensify," 13 Apr. 2021 The research has led to new insights into how vital resources such as carbon and water cycle through the environment, and how these cycles are impacted by anthropogenic activity. — Jonathon Keats, Forbes, "Are You A Citizen Of The Critical Zone? An Important Exhibit Shows That Your Life Depends On It," 10 Mar. 2021 Biophysicists estimate that a comparable amount of water flows upwards from the rainforest, each tropical tree pumping a geyser of water into the atmosphere, doing its part to drive the global water cycle. — Daniel Glick, Scientific American, "Can the Amazon Save the Planet?," 3 Apr. 2017 Includes an interactive activity to learn about the water cycle. — Mary Lou Cruz, sun-sentinel.com, "Sunday calendar: Virtual community, entertainment events starting Dec. 27," 24 Dec. 2020 By investigating what forms of water linger on the lunar surface and where that water is, scientists hope to better understand the moon’s mysterious water cycle. — Maya Wei-haas, National Geographic, "Water on moon’s surface may be more abundant than once thought," 26 Oct. 2020 Together, the studies could help scientists start to piece together how the lunar water cycle works. — Maya Wei-haas, National Geographic, "Water on moon’s surface may be more abundant than once thought," 26 Oct. 2020 The wetland, which is larger than Greece and stretches over parts of Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia, also offers unseen gifts to a vast swath of South America by regulating the water cycle upon which life depends. — Scott Reinhard, New York Times, "The World’s Largest Tropical Wetland Has Become an Inferno," 13 Oct. 2020

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

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Last Updated

21 Apr 2021

Cite this Entry

“Water cycle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/water%20cycle. Accessed 21 Apr. 2021.

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