Definitions

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

  • noun A sudden heavy rainstorm; a downpour.

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

  • noun A sudden heavy rainstorm.

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

cloud +‎ burst

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word cloudburst.

Examples

  • "Isn't that pretty nearly what people call a cloudburst, uncle Phaeton?" asked Bruno, curiously watching that receding mass of what from their present standpoint looked like vapour.

    The Lost City 1898

  • "Isn't that pretty nearly what people call a cloudburst, uncle Phaeton?" asked Bruno, curiously watching that receding mass of what from their present standpoint looked like vapour.

    The Lost City 1878

  • The cloudburst is a localised weather phenomena representing highly concentrated rainfall over

    dailyindia.com News Feed 2010

  • Some shops opened for the first time since the "cloudburst" struck in the middle of the night.

    Earth News, Earth Science, Energy Technology, Environment News 2010

  • New York can expect a cloudburst of wedding confetti come July 24, Sears says.

    New York braces for flurry of same-sex weddings 2011

  • An ecstatic Rover does a cute solo to the tune of “Singing in the Rain” when a cloudburst brings a storm of rocks.

    Current Movie Reviews, Independent Movies - Film Threat 2009

  • On board the Arangi, relieved by the lowering of her mainsail, as the fierceness went out of the wind and the cloudburst of tropic rain began to fall, Van Horn and Borckman lurched toward each other in the blackness.

    CHAPTER VI 2010

  • Channi Anand/Associated Press A car lies covered with rubble from a landslide after a cloudburst in Doda district, about 140 kilometers 88 miles from Jammu, India on Thursday.

    Asia in Pictures 2011

  • News of the Tendulkar shaped void at the heart of the evening spread like a sudden autumn cloudburst, much to the disappointment of the platoons of Indian television crews, who had spent the early evening rattling about the carpeted halls in a state of unfulfilled pre-Sachin anxiety.

    England's Jonathan Trott and Alastair Cook hit sixes at ICC awards 2011

  • New York can expect a cloudburst of wedding confetti come July 24, Sears says.

    New York braces for flurry of same-sex weddings 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.