Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun An extensive system of winds spiraling outward from a high-pressure center, circling clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A meteorological phenomenon presenting some features which are the opposites of those of a cyclone.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Meteorol.) A movement of the atmosphere opposite in character, as regards direction of the wind and distribution of barometric pressure, to that of a cyclone.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun meteorology a system of winds that spiral out from a centre of high pressure

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun (meteorology) winds spiraling outward from a high pressure center; circling clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Summer weather was once determined by a phenomenon called the anticyclone of the Azores, a high-pressure zone over the Atlantic that brought Italy hot, dry periods relieved by summer storms, and then a definitive break in mid-August when a final storm broke up the anticyclone for good.

    Rome: The Marvels and the Menace Rowland, Ingrid D. 2007

  • I have had a fortnight of perfect weather here -- the meteorologists call it by the horrible and ugly name of "anticyclone," which suggests, even more than the word "cyclone" suggests, the strange weather said by the

    The Silent Isle Arthur Christopher Benson 1893

  • A large anticyclone over western Russia helped to move a plume of hot air across eastern Europe last week.

    Weatherwatch: Warmth dominates Europe 2011

  • The high pressure system around Greenland (closed upper level anticyclone) acts as a block that helps hold the intense low near the Canadian Maritimes in place.

    Why was last year so snowy? Part II Jason Samenow 2010

  • An anticyclone delivered warm and sunny conditions to most of the UK during the first four days of the month, but low pressure became more of a feature from 5 June until the end of the third week, when a sudden hot spell in the south and east caused temperatures to rise into the 30s Celsius.

    The weather in June 2011

  • A large anticyclone over western Russia helped to move a plume of hot air across eastern Europe last week.

    Weatherwatch: Warmth dominates Europe 2011

  • According to its description the MT air mass "is typically found in warm sectors of mid-latitude cyclones [low pressure] or in a return flow on the western side of an anticyclone [high pressure]."

    In focus: The heat & humidity double whammy 2010

  • Proshutinsky and Johnson [26] show that the pattern of arctic sea ice drift has historically varied between two regimes, characterized by relatively strong and weak phases of the Beaufort anticyclone.

    Sea ice in the Arctic 2009

  • This view is supported by the frequency of south-easterly winds in the neighbourhood of the Antarctic Circle reported by all explorers, and the hypothesis of a south polar anticyclone or area of high pressure over the Antarctic continent has gained currency in advance of any observations to establish it.

    Perspective of Antarctica in 1911 2009

  • In many cases winds flow around the curved isobars of a high (anticyclone) or low (cyclone) pressure center.

    Wind 2008

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  • Surprise surpise, kind of the opposite of a cyclone: a descending movement of the air and a high pressure area over the part of the planet's surface affected by it. Generally not as destructive as a cyclone. The Great Red Spot on Jupiter is a prominent anticyclone.

    November 19, 2007