tsunami
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tsu·na·mi
(tso͞o-nä′mē)n. pl. tsu·na·mis or tsunami
A very large ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption.
[Japanese : tsu, harbor + nami, wave (so called because tsunamis generally pass unnoticed on the open sea, causing a slight swell, but rise to cause damage in the shallow waters of harbors ).]
tsu·na′mic (-mĭk) adj.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
tsunami
(tsʊˈnæmɪ)n, pl -mis or -mi
1. (Physical Geography) a large, often destructive, sea wave produced by a submarine earthquake, subsidence, or volcanic eruption. Sometimes incorrectly called a tidal wave
2. a sudden increase in or overwhelming number or volume of: the tsunami of Olympic visitors.
[from Japanese, from tsu port + nami wave]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
tsu•na•mi
(tsʊˈnɑ mi)n., pl. -mis.
an enormous sea wave produced by a seaquake or undersea volcanic eruption.
[1905–10; < Japanese, =tsu harbor + nami wave]
tsu•na′mic (-ˈnɑ mɪk, -ˈnæm ɪk) adj.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Waves created by a powerful underwater disturbance lose speed as they reach shallower water, but they gain height and get closer together.
tsu·na·mi
(tso͞o-nä′mē) A very large ocean wave that is caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption and often causes extreme destruction when it strikes land. See Note at tidal wave.
The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
tsunami
A high-speed wave set off by an earthquake, landslide, or volcanic eruption and towering on reaching some coasts; also called seismic sea wave.
Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited
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| Noun | 1. | tsunami - a cataclysm resulting from a destructive sea wave caused by an earthquake or volcanic eruption; "a colossal tsunami destroyed the Minoan civilization in minutes" calamity, catastrophe, tragedy, disaster, cataclysm - an event resulting in great loss and misfortune; "the whole city was affected by the irremediable calamity"; "the earthquake was a disaster" moving ridge, wave - one of a series of ridges that moves across the surface of a liquid (especially across a large body of water) |
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