avalanche

noun av·a·lanche \ ˈa-və-ˌlanch \

Updated on: 10 Dec 2017

Definition of avalanche

1 : a large mass of snow, ice, earth, rock, or other material in swift motion down a mountainside or over a precipice

2 : a sudden great or overwhelming rush or accumulation of something

hit by an avalanche of paperwork

3 physics : a cumulative process in which photons or accelerated charge carriers produce additional photons or charge carriers through collisions (as with gas molecules)

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Examples of avalanche in a Sentence

He was buried by an avalanche.

Recent Examples of avalanche from the Web

Until Luck takes another snap in an NFL game, the avalanche of questions will persist.

— stephen holder, Indianapolis Star, "Insider: With Andrew Luck ruled out, Colts face an endless stream of questions," 2 Nov. 2017
The particle avalanche also causes nitrogen molecules in the air to fluoresce, and on dark nights special telescopes can measure that light.

— adrian cho, Science | AAAS, "New evidence that the highest energy cosmic rays come from beyond our galaxy," 21 Sep. 2017
Diners shouldn’t be intimidated, despite the avalanche of dishes coming their way.

— kate krader, Bloomberg.com, "The 17 Most Exciting Restaurants Opening Around the World This Fall," 13 Sep. 2017
As trees ignited, fiery red avalanches of flames snaked along the Gorge’s steep flanks.

— hal bernton, The Seattle Times, "Forests west of the Cascades will see more fires, bigger fires with climate change," 9 Sep. 2017
Once again, the day after Thanksgiving—and in many cases the days before that—will see retailers across the country pushing an avalanche of sales to the gift-needy public.

— jeff dunn, Ars Technica, "Dealmaster: The Black Friday tech deals that might actually be worth buying [Updated]," 17 Nov. 2017
Rockslides, a type of landslide, are defined as a rocky avalanche falling from a cliff or mountainside.

— National Geographic, "Fatal Rockslide in Major National Park—What You Need to Know," 28 Sep. 2017
The mass of upwardly mobile humanity leaves an avalanche of trash in its wake, a national embarrassment.

— gilles mingasson, Smithsonian, "Why Mount Fuji Endures As a Powerful Force in Japan," 29 May 2017
And though Snyder probably gets a daily avalanche of messages from fans, rumors about Justice League’s rumored 170-minute run-time are likely dominating his mentions.

— yohana desta, HWD, "Zack Snyder Has No Patience for Your Justice League Rumors," 31 Mar. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of avalanche

French, from French dialect (Franco-Provençal) lavantse, avalantse

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1744

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Other Geology Terms

anthracite, boulder, cwm, erratic, igneous, intrusive, mesa, sedimentary, silt, swale

avalanche

verb

Definition of avalanche

avalanched; avalanching

intransitive verb

: to descend in an avalanche

Snow avalanched down the mountain.

transitive verb

: overwhelm, flood

The office was avalanched with applications.

Recent Examples of avalanche from the Web

After being fourth in team defense in 2014 under Jim Schwartz, Rex Ryan’s unit got avalanched the past two seasons, finishing 19th twice with uglier analytics measurables than that.

— peter king, The MMQB, "Peter King: The NFL's strongest division is...," 22 May 2017
Licht got avalanched for dealing third-round and fourth-round picks in 2016 to move into the second round to draft a kicker.

— peter king, SI.com, "Monday Morning QB: Bucs GM Jason Licht ‘Owning Up’ to Roberto Aguayo Mistake," 14 Aug. 2017
Conspiracy mogul Alex Jones’s gruff voice avalanched out of the speakers and declared war on globalists and labeled Hillary Clinton a criminal who needed to be locked away.

— Longreads, "The RNC, Revisited," 31 Oct. 2017