weather

noun weath·er \ ˈwe-t͟hər \

Updated on: 15 May 2018

1 : the state of the atmosphere with respect to heat or cold, wetness or dryness, calm or storm, clearness or cloudiness

2 : state or vicissitude of life or fortune

3 : disagreeable atmospheric conditions: such as

a : rain, storm

b : cold air with dampness

4 : weathering

— to weather

: in the direction from which the wind is blowing

— under the weather

1 : ill

2 : drunk 1a

See weather defined for English-language learners

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Examples of weather in a Sentence

The weather today will be hot and dry.
The hikers sought protection from the weather under an overhang.
It looks like we're in for some weather tomorrow.
We'll take a look at the weather right after this commercial break.
Check the weather before you make plans.

Recent Examples of weather from the Web

California firefighters and fire chiefs have asked for $100 million for overtime, equipment and dispatchers to better prepare for potential fires during risky weather conditions.

— Washington Post, "California governor pitches robust budget as revenues surge," 12 May 2018
An ozone action day is declared when weather conditions -- like heat and humidity -- may pose the risk of health problems.

— laura mcknight, NOLA.com, "Air quality alert continues on Thursday in New Orleans," 9 May 2018
Sharp curves in the road, hills, construction zones, toll booths, seams in the pavement and weather conditions that cut visibility can all hamper Autopilot’s performance.

— david r. baker, San Francisco Chronicle, "Tesla’s Autopilot, suspected in fatal crash, has a history of swerves," 4 May 2018
The probe is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in central California on May 5, though current forecasts show only a 20 percent chance of favorable weather conditions.

— NBC News, "7 ways NASA's InSight mission will go where no Mars explorer has before," 4 May 2018
Anyone can choose to build a little free library in their community that can withstand weather conditions and is full of books to borrow.

— charlene paparizos, cleveland.com, "Gurney Elementary School Third Graders Bring "Little Free Library" to the Community: Community Voices," 3 May 2018
Part performance art and part engineering, their works are ephemeral pieces that last however long weather conditions allow.

— cindy cantrell, BostonGlobe.com, "Book inspires others to ‘stick their toes in the sand’," 2 May 2018
Favorable weather conditions are helping firefighters working to stop growth of a wildfire that has burned nearly 19 square miles (49 square kilometers) of north-central Arizona forest while destroying 30 building and closing a state highway.

— Fox News, "Weather helps prevent Arizona wildfire from spreading," 2 May 2018
As a result of this training process, Paluri said that Facebook’s computers could now distinguish between specific species of birds in photographs as well as the different weather conditions in those photos.

— jonathan vanian, Fortune, "Facebook Used 3.5 Billion Instagram Photos to Improve Its Artificial Intelligence," 2 May 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of weather

Middle English weder, from Old English; akin to Old High German wetar weather, Old Church Slavonic vetrŭ wind

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First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Other Climate/Meteorology Terms

monsoon, occlusion, ozone, rime, squall, zephyr

weather

verb

weathered; weathering play \ˈwet͟h-riŋ, ˈwe-t͟hə-\

transitive verb

1 : to expose to the open air : subject to the action of the elements

2 : to bear up against and come safely through

weather a storm

weather a crisis

intransitive verb

: to undergo or endure the action of the elements

See weather defined for English-language learners

Examples of weather in a Sentence

The wood on the porch has weathered over the years.
They weathered a terrible storm while at sea.
He has weathered the criticism well.

Recent Examples of weather from the Web

Hawaii weathered its strongest earthquake in 43 years on Friday, the day after the Kilauea volcano erupted and forced 1,500 people to evacuate the area.

— jamie ducharme, Time, "Strongest Earthquake in 43 Years Rocks Kilauea: The Latest on the Hawaii Volcano Eruption," 4 May 2018
The memorial contains 800 engraved weathered steel columns, each bearing the name of a county where a documented lynching or lynchings occurred.

— allan vought, The Aegis, "National monument to victims of white racist violence rekindles interest in 1900 Bel Air lynching," 30 Apr. 2018
Creating the art Drumm now has exterior installations around the country, sculpted using all-weathering steel, commissioned by public and private companies, universities and private patrons.

— jennifer conn, akron reporter, cleveland.com, "Akron artist Don Drumm's iconic sun still shining after 60 years," 26 Apr. 2018
The office also weathered criticism for some high-profile failures: Former state Sen. Larry Young was acquitted of bribery and tax evasion charges.

— doug donovan, baltimoresun.com, "Meet the former Maryland prosecutor who pursued Sheila Dixon, Linda Tripp — and Dallas Dance," 20 Apr. 2018
Jutting out of the sea, Hashima’s crammed collection of apartment buildings experiences weathering from corrosive seawater and typhoons.

— National Geographic, "Abandoned 'Battleship Island' Is Crumbling. Can It Be Saved?," 20 Apr. 2018
AutoNation dealerships also weathered two major hurricanes, August’s Hurricane Harvey in Texas and September’s Irma in Florida.

— marcia heroux pounds, Sun-Sentinel.com, "AutoNation shareholders vote against split in chair, CEO roles," 19 Apr. 2018
Kim's single step across the cracked, weathered concrete marking the Koreas' border made him the first ruler of North Korea to step on South Korean soil since the war.

— foster klug, The Christian Science Monitor, "In historic summit, Korean leaders repeat commitment to denuclearize," 27 Apr. 2018
Paraguay’s economy has been among the top performers in the region in recent years, even as neighboring Brazil weathered a brutal recession.

— New York Times, "His Father Aided a Dictator. Paraguay Elected Him President.," 22 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of weather

15th century

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

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weather Synonyms

Phrases

make it (through);

weather

adjective

: of or relating to the side facing the wind — compare lee

First Known Use of weather

1582

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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WEATHER Defined for English Language Learners

weather

noun

: the state of the air and atmosphere at a particular time and place : the temperature and other outside conditions (such as rain, cloudiness, etc.) at a particular time and place
: bad or stormy weather
the weather : a report or forecast about the weather

weather

verb

: to change in color, condition, etc., because of the effects of the sun, wind, rain, etc., over a long period of time
: to deal with or experience (something dangerous or unpleasant) without being harmed or damaged too much