Definitions

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

  • noun A penetrating sandstorm or dust storm with violent winds, occurring chiefly in Arabia, North Africa, and India.

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

  • noun A violent sandstorm or dust storm in the deserts of Arabia, North Africa, India, or North America.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Arabic habūb, strong wind, from habba, to rush, blow; see hbb in Semitic roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Arabic هبوب (habūb, "strong wind"), from هب (hábba, "to blow, to rage"), from the root ه ب ب.

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Examples

  • Use of the term 'haboob,' which is what such storms have long been in the Middle East, has rubbed some Arizona residents the wrong way.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Michael Kesterton 2011

  • The storm, also known by the Arabic word haboob, also coated anything left outside in a thin layer of fine dirt and left some people who walked outside for a minute or two with grit between their teeth.

    SFGate: Top News Stories By JACQUES BILLEAUD 2011

  • 'Who gave you the right to use the word 'haboob' in describing our recent dust storm?

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed Michael Kesterton 2011

  • April 26, 2006 at 09:09 PM 1. The people in the helicopter laughed when they heard they were in a 'haboob' -- i.e., they did _not_ know about this routine local condition.

    The Inevitability of the Unexpected - The Austrian Economists 2006

  • A giant dust storm, known as a haboob, smothered Phoenix, Arizona, in the US, last week.

    Weatherwatch: world round-up 2011

  • The intense storm, known as a haboob, was caused by outflow winds from a nearby complex of thunderstorms.

    Weatherwatch: world round-up 2011

  • The AP reports that the massive dust cloud, also known as a "haboob," was around 5,000 feet when it arrived in Phoenix, but radar data reveals that it reached heights anywhere from 8,000 to 10,000 feet high prior.

    Phoenix Dust Storm: Arizona Hit With Monstrous 'Haboob' (PHOTOS/VIDEO) 2011

  • The dust, also known as a haboob in Arabic and around Arizona, formed in Pinal County and headed northeast, reaching Phoenix at about 5:30 p.m.

    StarTribune.com rss feed 2011

  • The dust, also known as a haboob in Arabic and around Arizona, formed in Pinal County and headed northeast, reaching Phoenix at about 5:30 p.m.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

  • In early July, a huge sand storm -- dubbed a haboob -- swallowed the Phoenix valley, darkening the streets, sending residents scrambling for cover and cutting power to thousands of homes.

    Yahoo! News: Business - Opinion 2011

Comments

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  • The meaning I have in mind is a (Sudanese?) dust storm. Hope I'm right :-7

    November 21, 2007

  • I've listed this one the most..one of my favorites...

    "Watch out! There's a haboob on the horizon and it's looking pretty gnarly!"

    February 9, 2011