Definition of the word wind

Wind is the natural movement of air or other gases relative to a planet’s surface. Winds occur on a range of scales, from thunderstorm flows lasting tens of minutes, to local breezes generated by heating of land surfaces and lasting a few hours, to global winds resulting from the difference in absorption of solar energy between the climate zones on Earth. The two main causes of large-scale atmospheric circulation are the differential heating between the equator and the poles, and the rotation of the planet (Coriolis effect). Within the tropics and subtropics, thermal low circulations over terrain and high plateaus can drive monsoon circulations. In coastal areas the sea breeze/land breeze cycle can define local winds; in areas that have variable terrain, mountain and valley breezes can prevail.

Winds are commonly classified by their spatial scale, their speed and direction, the forces that cause them, the regions in which they occur, and their effect. Winds have various aspects: velocity (wind speed); the density of the gas involved; energy content, or wind energy. In meteorology, winds are often referred to according to their strength, and the direction from which the wind is blowing. The convention for directions refer to where the wind comes from; therefore, a ‘western’ or ‘westerly’ wind blows from the west to the east, a ‘northern’ wind blows south, and so on. This is sometimes counter-intuitive.
Short bursts of high speed wind are termed gusts. Strong winds of intermediate duration (around one minute) are termed squalls. Long-duration winds have various names associated with their average strength, such as breeze, gale, storm, and hurricane.

In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the Sun through space, while planetary wind is the outgassing of light chemical elements from a planet’s atmosphere into space. The strongest observed winds on a planet in the Solar System occur on Neptune and Saturn.

In human civilization, the concept of wind has been explored in mythology, influenced the events of history, expanded the range of transport and warfare, and provided a power source for mechanical work, electricity, and recreation. Wind powers the voyages of sailing ships across Earth’s oceans. Hot air balloons use the wind to take short trips, and powered flight uses it to increase lift and reduce fuel consumption. Areas of wind shear caused by various weather phenomena can lead to dangerous situations for aircraft. When winds become strong, trees and human-made structures can be damaged or destroyed.

Winds can shape landforms, via a variety of aeolian processes such as the formation of fertile soils, for example loess, and by erosion. Dust from large deserts can be moved great distances from its source region by the prevailing winds; winds that are accelerated by rough topography and associated with dust outbreaks have been assigned regional names in various parts of the world because of their significant effects on those regions. Wind also affects the spread of wildfires. Winds can disperse seeds from various plants, enabling the survival and dispersal of those plant species, as well as flying insect and bird populations. When combined with cold temperatures, the wind has a negative impact on livestock. Wind affects animals’ food stores, as well as their hunting and defensive strategies.

Causes[edit]

Wind is caused by differences in atmospheric pressure, which are mainly due to temperature differences. When a difference in atmospheric pressure exists, air moves from the higher to the lower pressure area, resulting in winds of various speeds. On a rotating planet, air will also be deflected by the Coriolis effect, except exactly on the equator. Globally, the two major driving factors of large-scale wind patterns (the atmospheric circulation) are the differential heating between the equator and the poles (difference in absorption of solar energy leading to buoyancy forces) and the rotation of the planet. Outside the tropics and aloft from frictional effects of the surface, the large-scale winds tend to approach geostrophic balance. Near the Earth’s surface, friction causes the wind to be slower than it would be otherwise. Surface friction also causes winds to blow more inward into low-pressure areas.^[1][2]

Winds defined by an equilibrium of physical forces are used in the decomposition and analysis of wind profiles. They are useful for simplifying the atmospheric equations of motion and for making qualitative arguments about the horizontal and vertical distribution of horizontal winds. The geostrophic wind component is the result of the balance between Coriolis force and pressure gradient force. It flows parallel to isobars and approximates the flow above the atmospheric boundary layer in the midlatitudes.^[3] The thermal wind is the difference in the geostrophic wind between two levels in the atmosphere. It exists only in an atmosphere with horizontal temperature gradients.^[4] The ageostrophic wind component is the difference between actual and geostrophic wind, which is responsible for air «filling up» cyclones over time.^[5] The gradient wind is similar to the geostrophic wind but also includes centrifugal force (or centripetal acceleration).^[6]

Measurement[edit]

Wind direction is usually expressed in terms of the direction from which it originates. For example, a northerly wind blows from the north to the south.^[7] Weather vanes pivot to indicate the direction of the wind.^[8] At airports, windsocks indicate wind direction, and can also be used to estimate wind speed by the angle of hang.^[9] Wind speed is measured by anemometers, most commonly using rotating cups or propellers. When a high measurement frequency is needed (such as in research applications), wind can be measured by the propagation speed of ultrasound signals or by the effect of ventilation on the resistance of a heated wire.^[10] Another type of anemometer uses pitot tubes that take advantage of the pressure differential between an inner tube and an outer tube that is exposed to the wind to determine the dynamic pressure, which is then used to compute the wind speed.^[11]

Sustained wind speeds are reported globally at a 10 meters (33 ft) height and are averaged over a 10‑minute time frame. The United States reports winds over a 1‑minute average for tropical cyclones,^[12] and a 2‑minute average within weather observations.^[13] India typically reports winds over a 3‑minute average.^[14] Knowing the wind sampling average is important, as the value of a one-minute sustained wind is typically 14% greater than a ten-minute sustained wind.^[15] A short burst of high speed wind is termed a wind gust, one technical definition of a wind gust is: the maxima that exceed the lowest wind speed measured during a ten-minute time interval by 10 knots (5 m/s) for periods of seconds. A squall is an increase of the wind speed above a certain threshold, which lasts for a minute or more.

To determine winds aloft, rawinsondes determine wind speed by GPS, radio navigation, or radar tracking of the probe.^[16] Alternatively, movement of the parent weather balloon position can be tracked from the ground visually using theodolites.^[17] Remote sensing techniques for wind include SODAR, Doppler lidars and radars, which can measure the Doppler shift of electromagnetic radiation scattered or reflected off suspended aerosols or molecules, and radiometers and radars can be used to measure the surface roughness of the ocean from space or airplanes. Ocean roughness can be used to estimate wind velocity close to the sea surface over oceans. Geostationary satellite imagery can be used to estimate the winds at cloud top based upon how far clouds move from one image to the next. Wind engineering describes the study of the effects of the wind on the built environment, including buildings, bridges and other artificial objects.

Wind force scale[edit]

Historically, the Beaufort wind force scale (created by Beaufort) provides an empirical description of wind speed based on observed sea conditions. Originally it was a 13-level scale (0-12), but during the 1940s, the scale was expanded to 18 levels (0-17).^[18] There are general terms that differentiate winds of different average speeds such as a breeze, a gale, a storm, or a hurricane. Within the Beaufort scale, gale-force winds lie between 28 knots (52 km/h) and 55 knots (102 km/h) with preceding adjectives such as moderate, fresh, strong, and whole used to differentiate the wind’s strength within the gale category.^[19] A storm has winds of 56 knots (104 km/h) to 63 knots (117 km/h).^[20] The terminology for tropical cyclones differs from one region to another globally. Most ocean basins use the average wind speed to determine the tropical cyclone’s category. Below is a summary of the classifications used by Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers worldwide:

General wind classifications	Tropical cyclone classifications (all winds are 10-minute averages)
Beaufort scale[18]	10-minute sustained winds	General term[21]	N Indian Ocean IMD	SW Indian Ocean MF	Australian region South Pacific BoM, BMKG, FMS, MSNZ	NW Pacific JMA	NW Pacific JTWC	NE Pacific & N Atlantic NHC & CPHC
(knots)	(km/h)
0	<1	<2	Calm	Low Pressure Area	Tropical disturbance	Tropical low Tropical Depression	Tropical depression	Tropical depression	Tropical depression
1	1–3	2–6	Light air
2	4–6	7–11	Light breeze
3	7–10	13–19	Gentle breeze
4	11–16	20–30	Moderate breeze
5	17–21	31–39	Fresh breeze	Depression
6	22–27	41–50	Strong breeze
7	28–29	52–54	Moderate gale	Deep depression	Tropical depression
30–33	56–61
8	34–40	63–74	Fresh gale	Cyclonic storm	Moderate tropical storm	Tropical cyclone (1)	Tropical storm	Tropical storm	Tropical storm
9	41–47	76–87	Strong gale
10	48–55	89–102	Whole gale	Severe cyclonic storm	Severe tropical storm	Tropical cyclone (2)	Severe tropical storm
11	56–63	104–117	Storm
12	64–72	119–133	Hurricane	Very severe cyclonic storm	Tropical cyclone	Severe tropical cyclone (3)	Typhoon	Typhoon	Hurricane (1)
13	73–85	135–157	Hurricane (2)
14	86–89	159–165	Severe tropical cyclone (4)	Major hurricane (3)
15	90–99	167–183	Intense tropical cyclone
16	100–106	185–196	Major hurricane (4)
17	107–114	198–211	Severe tropical cyclone (5)
115–119	213–220	Very intense tropical cyclone	Super typhoon
>120	>222	Super cyclonic storm	Major hurricane (5)

Enhanced Fujita scale[edit]

The Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale) rates the strength of tornadoes by using damage to estimate wind speed. It has six levels, from visible damage to complete destruction. It is used in the United States and some other countries with small modifications (among which include Canada and France).^[22]

Station model[edit]

The station model plotted on surface weather maps uses a wind barb to show both wind direction and speed. The wind barb shows the speed using «flags» on the end.

• Each half of a flag depicts 5 knots (9.3 km/h) of wind.
• Each full flag depicts 10 knots (19 km/h) of wind.
• Each pennant (filled triangle) depicts 50 knots (93 km/h) of wind.^[23]

Winds are depicted as blowing from the direction the barb is facing. Therefore, a northeast wind will be depicted with a line extending from the cloud circle to the northeast, with flags indicating wind speed on the northeast end of this line.^[24] Once plotted on a map, an analysis of isotachs (lines of equal wind speeds) can be accomplished. Isotachs are particularly useful in diagnosing the location of the jet stream on upper-level constant pressure charts, and are usually located at or above the 300 hPa level.^[25]

Global climatology[edit]

Easterly winds, on average, dominate the flow pattern across the poles, westerly winds blow across the mid-latitudes of the earth, polewards of the subtropical ridge, while easterlies again dominate the tropics.

Directly under the subtropical ridge are the doldrums, or horse latitudes, where winds are lighter. Many of the Earth’s deserts lie near the average latitude of the subtropical ridge, where descent reduces the relative humidity of the air mass.^[26] The strongest winds are in the mid-latitudes where cold polar air meets warm air from the tropics.

Tropics[edit]

The trade winds (also called trades) are the prevailing pattern of easterly surface winds found in the tropics towards the Earth’s equator.^[27] The trade winds blow predominantly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere.^[28] The trade winds act as the steering flow for tropical cyclones that form over the world’s oceans.^[29] Trade winds also steer African dust westward across the Atlantic Ocean into the Caribbean, as well as portions of southeast North America.^[30]

A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind that lasts for several months within tropical regions. The term was first used in English in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and neighboring countries to refer to the big seasonal winds blowing from the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea in the southwest bringing heavy rainfall to the area.^[31] Its poleward progression is accelerated by the development of a heat low over the Asian, African, and North American continents during May through July, and over Australia in December.^[32][33][34]

Westerlies and their impact[edit]

The Westerlies or the Prevailing Westerlies are the prevailing winds in the middle latitudes between 35 and 65 degrees latitude. These prevailing winds blow from the west to the east,^[35][36] and steer extratropical cyclones in this general manner. The winds are predominantly from the southwest in the Northern Hemisphere and from the northwest in the Southern Hemisphere.^[28] They are strongest in the winter when the pressure is lower over the poles, and weakest during the summer and when pressures are higher over the poles.^[37]

Together with the trade winds, the westerlies enabled a round-trip trade route for sailing ships crossing the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as the westerlies lead to the development of strong ocean currents on the western sides of oceans in both hemispheres through the process of western intensification.^[38] These western ocean currents transport warm, sub-tropical water polewards toward the polar regions. The westerlies can be particularly strong, especially in the southern hemisphere, where there is less land in the middle latitudes to cause the flow pattern to amplify, which slows the winds down. The strongest westerly winds in the middle latitudes are within a band known as the Roaring Forties, between 40 and 50 degrees latitude south of the equator.^[39] The Westerlies play an important role in carrying the warm, equatorial waters and winds to the western coasts of continents,^[40][41] especially in the southern hemisphere because of its vast oceanic expanse.

Polar easterlies[edit]

The polar easterlies, also known as Polar Hadley cells, are dry, cold prevailing winds that blow from the high-pressure areas of the polar highs at the north and south poles towards the low-pressure areas within the Westerlies at high latitudes. Unlike the Westerlies, these prevailing winds blow from the east to the west, and are often weak and irregular.^[42] Because of the low sun angle, cold air builds up and subsides at the pole creating surface high-pressure areas, forcing an equatorward outflow of air;^[43] that outflow is deflected westward by the Coriolis effect.

Local considerations[edit]

Sea and land breezes[edit]

In coastal regions, sea breezes and land breezes can be important factors in a location’s prevailing winds. The sea is warmed by the sun more slowly because of water’s greater specific heat compared to land. As the temperature of the surface of the land rises, the land heats the air above it by conduction. The warm air is less dense than the surrounding environment and so it rises.^[44] The cooler air above the sea, now with higher sea level pressure, flows inland into the lower pressure, creating a cooler breeze near the coast. A background along-shore wind either strengthens or weakens the sea breeze, depending on its orientation with respect to the Coriolis force.^[45]

At night, the land cools off more quickly than the ocean because of differences in their specific heat values. This temperature change causes the daytime sea breeze to dissipate. When the temperature onshore cools below the temperature offshore, the pressure over the water will be lower than that of the land, establishing a land breeze, as long as an onshore wind is not strong enough to oppose it.^[46]

Near mountains[edit]

Over elevated surfaces, heating of the ground exceeds the heating of the surrounding air at the same altitude above sea level, creating an associated thermal low over the terrain and enhancing any thermal lows that would have otherwise existed,^[47][48] and changing the wind circulation of the region. In areas where there is rugged topography that significantly interrupts the environmental wind flow, the wind circulation between mountains and valleys is the most important contributor to the prevailing winds. Hills and valleys substantially distort the airflow by increasing friction between the atmosphere and landmass by acting as a physical block to the flow, deflecting the wind parallel to the range just upstream of the topography, which is known as a barrier jet. This barrier jet can increase the low-level wind by 45%.^[49] Wind direction also changes because of the contour of the land.^[50]

If there is a pass in the mountain range, winds will rush through the pass with considerable speed because of the Bernoulli principle that describes an inverse relationship between speed and pressure. The airflow can remain turbulent and erratic for some distance downwind into the flatter countryside. These conditions are dangerous to ascending and descending airplanes.^[50] Cool winds accelerating through mountain gaps have been given regional names. In Central America, examples include the Papagayo wind, the Panama wind, and the Tehuano wind. In Europe, similar winds are known as the Bora, Tramontane, and Mistral. When these winds blow over open waters, they increase mixing of the upper layers of the ocean that elevates cool, nutrient rich waters to the surface, which leads to increased marine life.^[51]

In mountainous areas, local distortion of the airflow becomes severe. Jagged terrain combines to produce unpredictable flow patterns and turbulence, such as rotors, which can be topped by lenticular clouds. Strong updrafts, downdrafts, and eddies develop as the air flows over hills and down valleys. Orographic precipitation occurs on the windward side of mountains and is caused by the rising air motion of a large-scale flow of moist air across the mountain ridge, also known as upslope flow, resulting in adiabatic cooling and condensation. In mountainous parts of the world subjected to relatively consistent winds (for example, the trade winds), a more moist climate usually prevails on the windward side of a mountain than on the leeward or downwind side. Moisture is removed by orographic lift, leaving drier air on the descending and generally warming, leeward side where a rain shadow is observed.^[52]

Winds that flow over mountains down into lower elevations are known as downslope winds. These winds are warm and dry. In Europe downwind of the Alps, they are known as foehn. In Poland, an example is the halny wiatr. In Argentina, the local name for down sloped winds is zonda. In Java, the local name for such winds is koembang. In New Zealand, they are known as the Nor’west arch, and are accompanied by the cloud formation they are named after that has inspired artwork over the years.^[53] In the Great Plains of the United States, these winds are known as a chinook. Downslope winds also occur in the foothills of the Appalachian mountains of the United States,^[54] and they can be as strong as other downslope winds^[55] and unusual compared to other foehn winds in that the relative humidity typically changes little due to the increased moisture in the source air mass.^[56] In California, downslope winds are funneled through mountain passes, which intensify their effect, and examples include the Santa Ana and sundowner winds. Wind speeds during downslope wind effect can exceed 160 kilometers per hour (99 mph).^[57]

Shear[edit]

Wind shear, sometimes referred to as wind gradient, is a difference in wind speed and direction over a relatively short distance in the Earth’s atmosphere.^[58] Wind shear can be broken down into vertical and horizontal components, with horizontal wind shear seen across weather fronts and near the coast,^[59] and vertical shear typically near the surface,^[60] though also at higher levels in the atmosphere near upper level jets and frontal zones aloft.^[61]

Wind shear itself is a microscale meteorological phenomenon occurring over a very small distance, but it can be associated with mesoscale or synoptic scale weather features such as squall lines and cold fronts. It is commonly observed near microbursts and downbursts caused by thunderstorms,^[62] weather fronts, areas of locally higher low level winds referred to as low level jets, near mountains,^[63] radiation inversions that occur because of clear skies and calm winds, buildings,^[64] wind turbines,^[65] and sailboats.^[66] Wind shear has a significant effect on the control of aircraft during take-off and landing,^[67] and was a significant cause of aircraft accidents involving large loss of life within the United States.^[62]

Sound movement through the atmosphere is affected by wind shear, which can bend the wave front, causing sounds to be heard where they normally would not, or vice versa.^[68] Strong vertical wind shear within the troposphere also inhibits tropical cyclone development,^[69] but helps to organize individual thunderstorms into living longer life cycles that can then produce severe weather.^[70] The thermal wind concept explains how differences in wind speed with height are dependent on horizontal temperature differences, and explains the existence of the jet stream.^[71]

In civilization[edit]

Religion[edit]

As a natural force, the wind was often personified as one or more wind gods or as an expression of the supernatural in many cultures. Vayu is the Vedic and Hindu God of Wind.^[72][73] The Greek wind gods include Boreas, Notus, Eurus, and Zephyrus.^[73] Aeolus, in varying interpretations the ruler or keeper of the four winds, has also been described as Astraeus, the god of dusk who fathered the four winds with Eos, goddess of dawn. The ancient Greeks also observed the seasonal change of the winds, as evidenced by the Tower of the Winds in Athens.^[73] Venti are the Roman gods of the winds.^[74] Fūjin is the Japanese wind god and is one of the eldest Shinto gods. According to legend, he was present at the creation of the world and first let the winds out of his bag to clear the world of mist.^[75] In Norse mythology, Njörðr is the god of the wind.^[73] There are also four dvärgar (Norse dwarves), named Norðri, Suðri, Austri and Vestri, and probably the four stags of Yggdrasil, personify the four winds, and parallel the four Greek wind gods.^[76] Stribog is the name of the Slavic god of winds, sky and air. He is said to be the ancestor (grandfather) of the winds of the eight directions.^[73]

History[edit]

Kamikaze is a Japanese word, usually translated as divine wind, believed to be a gift from the gods. The term is first known to have been used as the name of a pair or series of typhoons that are said to have saved Japan from two Mongol fleets under Kublai Khan that attacked Japan in 1274 and again in 1281.^[77] Protestant Wind is a name for the storm that deterred the Spanish Armada from an invasion of England in 1588 where the wind played a pivotal role,^[78] or the favorable winds that enabled William of Orange to invade England in 1688.^[79] During Napoleon’s Egyptian Campaign, the French soldiers had a hard time with the khamsin wind: when the storm appeared «as a blood-stint in the distant sky», the Ottomans went to take cover, while the French «did not react until it was too late, then choked and fainted in the blinding, suffocating walls of dust».^[80] During the North African Campaign of the World War II, «allied and German troops were several times forced to halt in mid-battle because of sandstorms caused by khamsin… Grains of sand whirled by the wind blinded the soldiers and created electrical disturbances that rendered compasses useless.»^[81]

Transportation[edit]

There are many different forms of sailing ships, but they all have certain basic things in common. Except for rotor ships using the Magnus effect, every sailing ship has a hull, rigging and at least one mast to hold up the sails that use the wind to power the ship.^[82] Ocean journeys by sailing ship can take many months,^[83] and a common hazard is becoming becalmed because of lack of wind,^[84] or being blown off course by severe storms or winds that do not allow progress in the desired direction.^[85] A severe storm could lead to shipwreck, and the loss of all hands.^[86] Sailing ships can only carry a certain quantity of supplies in their hold, so they have to plan long voyages carefully to include appropriate provisions, including fresh water.^[87]

For aerodynamic aircraft which operate relative to the air, winds affect groundspeed,^[88] and in the case of lighter-than-air vehicles, wind may play a significant or solitary role in their movement and ground track.^[89] The velocity of surface wind is generally the primary factor governing the direction of flight operations at an airport, and airfield runways are aligned to account for the common wind direction(s) of the local area. While taking off with a tailwind may be necessary under certain circumstances, a headwind is generally desirable. A tailwind increases takeoff distance required and decreases the climb gradient.^[90]

Power source[edit]

The ancient Sinhalese of Anuradhapura and in other cities around Sri Lanka used the monsoon winds to power furnaces as early as 300 BCE. The furnaces were constructed on the path of the monsoon winds to bring the temperatures inside up to 1,200 °C (2,190 °F).^[91] A rudimentary windmill was used to power an organ in the first century CE.^[92] Windmills were later built in Sistan, Afghanistan, from the 7th century CE. These were vertical-axle windmills,^[93] with sails covered in reed matting or cloth material. These windmills were used to grind corn and draw up water, and were used in the gristmilling and sugarcane industries.^[94] Horizontal-axle windmills were later used extensively in Northwestern Europe to grind flour beginning in the 1180s, and many Dutch windmills still exist.

Wind power is now one of the main sources of renewable energy, and its use is growing rapidly, driven by innovation and falling prices.^[95] Most of the installed capacity in wind power is onshore, but offshore wind power offers a large potential as wind speeds are typically higher and more constant away from the coast.^[96] Wind energy the kinetic energy of the air, is proportional to the third power of wind velocity. Betz’s law described the theoretical upper limit of what fraction of this energy wind turbines can extract, which is about 59%.^[97]

Recreation[edit]

Wind figures prominently in several popular sports, including recreational hang gliding, hot air ballooning, kite flying, snowkiting, kite landboarding, kite surfing, paragliding, sailing, and windsurfing. In gliding, wind gradients just above the surface affect the takeoff and landing phases of flight of a glider. Wind gradient can have a noticeable effect on ground launches, also known as winch launches or wire launches. If the wind gradient is significant or sudden, or both, and the pilot maintains the same pitch attitude, the indicated airspeed will increase, possibly exceeding the maximum ground launch tow speed. The pilot must adjust the airspeed to deal with the effect of the gradient.^[98] When landing, wind shear is also a hazard, particularly when the winds are strong. As the glider descends through the wind gradient on final approach to landing, airspeed decreases while sink rate increases, and there is insufficient time to accelerate prior to ground contact. The pilot must anticipate the wind gradient and use a higher approach speed to compensate for it.^[99]

In the natural world[edit]

In arid climates, the main source of erosion is wind.^[100] The general wind circulation moves small particulates such as dust across wide oceans thousands of kilometers downwind of their point of origin,^[101] which is known as deflation. Westerly winds in the mid-latitudes of the planet drive the movement of ocean currents from west to east across the world’s oceans. Wind has a very important role in aiding plants and other immobile organisms in dispersal of seeds, spores, pollen, etc. Although wind is not the primary form of seed dispersal in plants, it provides dispersal for a large percentage of the biomass of land plants.

Erosion[edit]

Erosion can be the result of material movement by the wind. There are two main effects. First, wind causes small particles to be lifted and therefore moved to another region. This is called deflation. Second, these suspended particles may impact on solid objects causing erosion by abrasion (ecological succession). Wind erosion generally occurs in areas with little or no vegetation, often in areas where there is insufficient rainfall to support vegetation. An example is the formation of sand dunes, on a beach or in a desert.^[102] Loess is a homogeneous, typically nonstratified, porous, friable, slightly coherent, often calcareous, fine-grained, silty, pale yellow or buff, windblown (Aeolian) sediment.^[103] It generally occurs as a widespread blanket deposit that covers areas of hundreds of square kilometers and tens of meters thick. Loess often stands in either steep or vertical faces.^[104] Loess tends to develop into highly rich soils. Under appropriate climatic conditions, areas with loess are among the most agriculturally productive in the world.^[105] Loess deposits are geologically unstable by nature, and will erode very readily. Therefore, windbreaks (such as big trees and bushes) are often planted by farmers to reduce the wind erosion of loess.^[100]

Desert dust migration[edit]

During mid-summer (July in the northern hemisphere), the westward-moving trade winds south of the northward-moving subtropical ridge expand northwestward from the Caribbean into southeastern North America. When dust from the Sahara moving around the southern periphery of the ridge within the belt of trade winds moves over land, rainfall is suppressed and the sky changes from a blue to a white appearance, which leads to an increase in red sunsets. Its presence negatively impacts air quality by adding to the count of airborne particulates.^[106] Over 50% of the African dust that reaches the United States affects Florida.^[107] Since 1970, dust outbreaks have worsened because of periods of drought in Africa. There is a large variability in the dust transport to the Caribbean and Florida from year to year.^[108] Dust events have been linked to a decline in the health of coral reefs across the Caribbean and Florida, primarily since the 1970s.^[109] Similar dust plumes originate in the Gobi Desert, which combined with pollutants, spread large distances downwind, or eastward, into North America.^[101]

There are local names for winds associated with sand and dust storms. The Calima carries dust on southeast winds into the Canary islands.^[110] The Harmattan carries dust during the winter into the Gulf of Guinea.^[111] The Sirocco brings dust from north Africa into southern Europe because of the movement of extratropical cyclones through the Mediterranean.^[112] Spring storm systems moving across the eastern Mediterranean Sea cause dust to carry across Egypt and the Arabian peninsula, which are locally known as Khamsin.^[113] The Shamal is caused by cold fronts lifting dust into the atmosphere for days at a time across the Persian Gulf states.^[114]

Effect on plants[edit]

Wind dispersal of seeds, or anemochory, is one of the more primitive means of dispersal. Wind dispersal can take on one of two primary forms: seeds can float on the breeze or alternatively, they can flutter to the ground.^[115] The classic examples of these dispersal mechanisms include dandelions (Taraxacum spp., Asteraceae), which have a feathery pappus attached to their seeds and can be dispersed long distances, and maples (Acer (genus) spp., Sapindaceae), which have winged seeds and flutter to the ground. An important constraint on wind dispersal is the need for abundant seed production to maximize the likelihood of a seed landing in a site suitable for germination. There are also strong evolutionary constraints on this dispersal mechanism. For instance, species in the Asteraceae on islands tended to have reduced dispersal capabilities (i.e., larger seed mass and smaller pappus) relative to the same species on the mainland.^[116] Reliance upon wind dispersal is common among many weedy or ruderal species. Unusual mechanisms of wind dispersal include tumbleweeds. A related process to anemochory is anemophily, which is the process where pollen is distributed by wind. Large families of plants are pollinated in this manner, which is favored when individuals of the dominant plant species are spaced closely together.^[117]

Wind also limits tree growth. On coasts and isolated mountains, the tree line is often much lower than in corresponding altitudes inland and in larger, more complex mountain systems, because strong winds reduce tree growth. High winds scour away thin soils through erosion,^[118] as well as damage limbs and twigs. When high winds knock down or uproot trees, the process is known as windthrow. This is most likely on windward slopes of mountains, with severe cases generally occurring to tree stands that are 75 years or older.^[119] Plant varieties near the coast, such as the Sitka spruce and sea grape,^[120] are pruned back by wind and salt spray near the coastline.^[121]

Wind can also cause plants damage through sand abrasion. Strong winds will pick up loose sand and topsoil and hurl it through the air at speeds ranging from 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) to 40 miles per hour (64 km/h). Such windblown sand causes extensive damage to plant seedlings because it ruptures plant cells, making them vulnerable to evaporation and drought. Using a mechanical sandblaster in a laboratory setting, scientists affiliated with the Agricultural Research Service studied the effects of windblown sand abrasion on cotton seedlings. The study showed that the seedlings responded to the damage created by the windblown sand abrasion by shifting energy from stem and root growth to the growth and repair of the damaged stems.^[122] After a period of four weeks, the growth of the seedling once again became uniform throughout the plant, as it was before the windblown sand abrasion occurred.^[123]

Besides plant gametes (seeds) wind also helps plants’ enemies: Spores and other propagules of plant pathogens are even lighter and able to travel long distances.^[124] A few plant diseases are known to have been known to travel over marginal seas^[125] and even entire oceans.^[126] Humans are unable to prevent or even slow down wind dispersal of plant pathogens, requiring prediction and amelioration instead.^[127]

Effect on animals[edit]

Cattle and sheep are prone to wind chill caused by a combination of wind and cold temperatures, when winds exceed 40 kilometers per hour (25 mph), rendering their hair and wool coverings ineffective.^[128] Although penguins use both a layer of fat and feathers to help guard against coldness in both water and air, their flippers and feet are less immune to the cold. In the coldest climates such as Antarctica, emperor penguins use huddling behavior to survive the wind and cold, continuously alternating the members on the outside of the assembled group, which reduces heat loss by 50%.^[129] Flying insects, a subset of arthropods, are swept along by the prevailing winds,^[130] while birds follow their own course taking advantage of wind conditions, in order to either fly or glide.^[131] As such, fine line patterns within weather radar imagery, associated with converging winds, are dominated by insect returns.^[132] Bird migration, which tends to occur overnight within the lowest 7,000 feet (2,100 m) of the Earth’s atmosphere, contaminates wind profiles gathered by weather radar, particularly the WSR-88D, by increasing the environmental wind returns by 15 knots (28 km/h) to 30 knots (56 km/h).^[133]

Pikas use a wall of pebbles to store dry plants and grasses for the winter in order to protect the food from being blown away.^[134] Cockroaches use slight winds that precede the attacks of potential predators, such as toads, to survive their encounters. Their cerci are very sensitive to the wind, and help them survive half of their attacks.^[135] Elk have a keen sense of smell that can detect potential upwind predators at a distance of 0.5 miles (800 m).^[136] Increases in wind above 15 kilometers per hour (9.3 mph) signals glaucous gulls to increase their foraging and aerial attacks on thick-billed murres.^[137]

[edit]

High winds are known to cause damage, depending upon the magnitude of their velocity and pressure differential. Wind pressures are positive on the windward side of a structure and negative on the leeward side. Infrequent wind gusts can cause poorly designed suspension bridges to sway. When wind gusts are at a similar frequency to the swaying of the bridge, the bridge can be destroyed more easily, such as what occurred with the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940.^[138] Wind speeds as low as 23 knots (43 km/h) can lead to power outages due to tree branches disrupting the flow of energy through power lines.^[139] While no species of tree is guaranteed to stand up to hurricane-force winds, those with shallow roots are more prone to uproot, and brittle trees such as eucalyptus, sea hibiscus, and avocado are more prone to damage.^[140] Hurricane-force winds cause substantial damage to mobile homes, and begin to structurally damage homes with foundations. Winds of this strength due to downsloped winds off terrain have been known to shatter windows and sandblast paint from cars.^[57] Once winds exceed 135 knots (250 km/h), homes completely collapse, and significant damage is done to larger buildings. Total destruction to artificial structures occurs when winds reach 175 knots (324 km/h). The Saffir–Simpson scale and Enhanced Fujita scale were designed to help estimate wind speed from the damage caused by high winds related to tropical cyclones and tornadoes, and vice versa.^[141][142]

Australia’s Barrow Island holds the record for the strongest wind gust, reaching 408 km/h (253 mph) during tropical cyclone Olivia on 10 April 1996, surpassing the previous record of 372 km/h (231 mph) set on Mount Washington (New Hampshire) on the afternoon of 12 April 1934.^[143]

Wildfire intensity increases during daytime hours. For example, burn rates of smoldering logs are up to five times greater during the day because of lower humidity, increased temperatures, and increased wind speeds.^[144] Sunlight warms the ground during the day and causes air currents to travel uphill, and downhill during the night as the land cools. Wildfires are fanned by these winds and often follow the air currents over hills and through valleys.^[145] United States wildfire operations revolve around a 24-hour fire day that begins at 10:00 a.m. because of the predictable increase in intensity resulting from the daytime warmth.^[146]

In outer space[edit]

The solar wind is quite different from a terrestrial wind, in that its origin is the Sun, and it is composed of charged particles that have escaped the Sun’s atmosphere. Similar to the solar wind, the planetary wind is composed of light gases that escape planetary atmospheres. Over long periods of time, the planetary wind can radically change the composition of planetary atmospheres.

The fastest wind ever recorded came from the accretion disc of the IGR J17091-3624 black hole. Its speed is 20,000,000 miles per hour (32,000,000 km/h), which is 3% of the speed of light.^[147]

Planetary wind[edit]

The hydrodynamic wind within the upper portion of a planet’s atmosphere allows light chemical elements such as hydrogen to move up to the exobase, the lower limit of the exosphere, where the gases can then reach escape velocity, entering outer space without impacting other particles of gas. This type of gas loss from a planet into space is known as planetary wind.^[148] Such a process over geologic time causes water-rich planets such as the Earth to evolve into planets like Venus.^[149] Additionally, planets with hotter lower atmospheres could accelerate the loss rate of hydrogen.^[150]

Solar wind[edit]

Rather than air, the solar wind is a stream of charged particles—a plasma—ejected from the upper atmosphere of the sun at a rate of 400 kilometers per second (890,000 mph). It consists mostly of electrons and protons with energies of about 1 keV. The stream of particles varies in temperature and speed with the passage of time. These particles are able to escape the Sun’s gravity, in part because of the high temperature of the corona,^[151] but also because of high kinetic energy that particles gain through a process that is not well understood. The solar wind creates the Heliosphere, a vast bubble in the interstellar medium surrounding the Solar System.^[152] Planets require large magnetic fields in order to reduce the ionization of their upper atmosphere by the solar wind.^[150] Other phenomena caused by the solar wind include geomagnetic storms that can knock out power grids on Earth,^[153] the aurorae such as the Northern Lights,^[154] and the plasma tails of comets that always point away from the Sun.^[155]

On other planets[edit]

Strong 300 kilometers per hour (190 mph) winds at Venus’s cloud tops circle the planet every four to five earth days.^[156] When the poles of Mars are exposed to sunlight after their winter, the frozen CO₂ sublimates, creating significant winds that sweep off the poles as fast as 400 kilometers per hour (250 mph), which subsequently transports large amounts of dust and water vapor over its landscape.^[157] Other Martian winds have resulted in cleaning events and dust devils.^[158][159] On Jupiter, wind speeds of 100 meters per second (220 mph) are common in zonal jet streams.^[160] Saturn’s winds are among the Solar System’s fastest. Cassini–Huygens data indicated peak easterly winds of 375 meters per second (840 mph).^[161] On Uranus, northern hemisphere wind speeds reach as high as 240 meters per second (540 mph) near 50 degrees north latitude.^{[162][163][164]} At the cloud tops of Neptune, prevailing winds range in speed from 400 meters per second (890 mph) along the equator to 250 meters per second (560 mph) at the poles.^[165] At 70° S latitude on Neptune, a high-speed jet stream travels at a speed of 300 meters per second (670 mph).^[166] The fastest wind on any known planet is on HD 80606 b located 190 light years away, where it blows at more than 11,000 mph or 5 km/s.^[167]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Current map of global surface winds

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘wind.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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wind

(pronounced wind) to change direction; meander: The creek winds through the woods.

Not to be confused with:

wend – to proceed or go: She had to wend her way through the crowd.

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree Copyright © 2007, 2013 by Mary Embree

wind ¹

 (wĭnd)

n.

1.

a. Moving air, especially a natural and perceptible movement of air parallel to or along the ground.

b. A movement of air generated artificially, as by bellows or a fan.

2.

a. The direction from which a movement of air comes: The wind is north-northwest.

b. A movement of air coming from one of the four cardinal points of the compass: the four winds.

3. Moving air carrying sound, an odor, or a scent.

4.

a. Breath, especially normal or adequate breathing; respiration: had the wind knocked out of them.

b. Gas produced in the stomach or intestines during digestion; flatulence.

5. often winds Music

a. The brass and woodwinds sections of a band or orchestra.

b. Wind instruments or their players considered as a group.

c. Woodwinds.

6.

a. Something that disrupts or destroys: the winds of war.

b. A tendency; a trend: the winds of change.

7. Information, especially of something concealed; intimation: Trouble will ensue if wind of this scandal gets out.

8.

a. Speech or writing empty of meaning; verbiage: His remarks on the subject are nothing but wind.

b. Vain self-importance; pomposity: an expert who was full of wind even before becoming famous.

tr.v. wind·ed, wind·ing, winds

1. To expose to free movement of air; ventilate or dry.

2.

a. To detect the smell of; catch a scent of.

b. To pursue by following a scent.

3. To cause to be out of or short of breath.

4. To afford a recovery of breath: stopped to wind and water the horses.

Idioms:

before the wind Nautical

In the same direction the wind is blowing.

close to/near the wind

1. Nautical As close as possible to the direction the wind is blowing from.

2. Close to danger.

down the wind

Nautical Downwind.

in the wind

Likely to occur; in the offing: Big changes are in the wind.

into the wind

Nautical In the same or nearly the same direction as the wind is blowing from.

off the wind Nautical

In a direction that is not as close as possible to the direction the wind is blowing from.

on the wind Nautical

Close to the wind.

take the wind out of (one’s) sails

To rob of an advantage; deflate.

under the wind

1. Nautical To the leeward.

2. In a location protected from the wind.

up the wind Nautical

Upwind.

---

---

wind ²

 (wīnd)

v. wound (wound), wind·ing, winds

v.tr.

1. To wrap (something) around a center or another object once or repeatedly: wind string around a spool.

2. To wrap or encircle (an object) in a series of coils; entwine: wound her injured leg with a bandage; wound the waist of the gown with lace and ribbons.

3.

a. To go along (a curving or twisting course): wind a path through the mountains.

b. To proceed on (one’s way) with a curving or twisting course.

4. To introduce in a disguised or devious manner; insinuate: He wound a plea for money into his letter.

5. To turn (a crank, for example) in a series of circular motions.

6.

a. To coil the spring of (a mechanism) by turning a stem or cord, for example: wind a watch.

b. To coil (thread, for example), as onto a spool or into a ball.

c. To remove or unwind (thread, for example), as from a spool: wound the line off the reel.

7. To lift or haul by means of a windlass or winch: Wind the pail to the top of the well.

v.intr.

1. To move in or have a curving or twisting course: a river winding through a valley.

2.

a. To move in or have a spiral or circular course: a column of smoke winding into the sky.

b. To be coiled or spiraled: The vine wound about the trellis.

3. To be twisted or whorled into curved forms.

4. To proceed misleadingly or insidiously in discourse or conduct.

5. To become wound: a clock that winds with difficulty.

n.

1. The act of winding.

2. A single turn, twist, or curve.

Phrasal Verbs:

wind down

1. To diminish or cause to diminish gradually in energy, intensity, or scope: The party wound down as guests began to leave.

2. To relax; unwind.

wind up

1. To come or bring to a finish; end: when the meeting wound up; wind up a project.

2. To put in order; settle: wound up her affairs before leaving the country.

3. To arrive in a place or situation after or because of a course of action: took a long walk and wound up at the edge of town; overspent and wound up in debt.

4. Baseball To swing back the arm and raise the foot in preparation for pitching the ball.

---

[Middle English winden, from Old English windan.]

---

wind ³

 (wīnd, wĭnd)

tr.v. wind·ed (wīn′dĭd, wĭn′-) or wound (wound), wind·ing, winds Music

1. To blow (a wind instrument).

2. To sound by blowing.

---

---

wind′er n.

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.

wind

(wɪnd)

n

1. (Physical Geography) a current of air, sometimes of considerable force, moving generally horizontally from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure. See also Beaufort scale

2. (Physical Geography) chiefly poetic the direction from which a wind blows, usually a cardinal point of the compass

3. (General Engineering) air artificially moved, as by a fan, pump, etc

4. any sweeping and destructive force

5. a trend, tendency, or force: the winds of revolution.

6. informal a hint; suggestion: we got wind that you were coming.

7. something deemed insubstantial: his talk was all wind.

8. breath, as used in respiration or talk: you’re just wasting wind.

9. (Physiology) (often used in sports) the power to breathe normally: his wind is weak. See also second wind

10. (Instruments) music

a. a wind instrument or wind instruments considered collectively

b. (often plural) the musicians who play wind instruments in an orchestra

c. (modifier) of, relating to, or composed of wind instruments: a wind ensemble.

11. (Physiology) an informal name for flatus

12. (Hunting) the air on which the scent of an animal is carried to hounds or on which the scent of a hunter is carried to his quarry

13. (Nautical Terms) the part of a vessel’s hull below the water line that is exposed by rolling or by wave action

14. any point particularly susceptible to attack or injury

15. (Physiology) break wind to release intestinal gas through the anus

16. get the wind up have the wind up informal to become frightened

17. (Hunting) have in the wind to be in the act of following (quarry) by scent

18. how the wind blows how the wind lies which way the wind blows which way the wind lies what appears probable

19. in the wind about to happen

20. (Brewing) three sheets in the wind informal intoxicated; drunk

21. (Nautical Terms) in the teeth of the wind in the eye of the wind directly into the wind

22. into the wind against the wind or upwind

23. (Nautical Terms) off the wind nautical away from the direction from which the wind is blowing

24. (Nautical Terms) on the wind nautical as near as possible to the direction from which the wind is blowing

25. put the wind up informal to frighten or alarm

26. (Banking & Finance) raise the wind informal Brit to obtain the necessary funds

27. sail close to the wind sail near to the wind

a. to come near the limits of danger or indecency

b. to live frugally or manage one’s affairs economically

28. take the wind out of someone’s sails to destroy someone’s advantage; disconcert or deflate

vb (tr)

29. (Pathology) to cause (someone) to be short of breath: the blow winded him.

30. (Hunting)

a. to detect the scent of

b. to pursue (quarry) by following its scent

31. (Physiology) to cause (a baby) to bring up wind after feeding by patting or rubbing on the back

32. to expose to air, as in drying, ventilating, etc

[Old English wind; related to Old High German wint, Old Norse vindr, Gothic winds, Latin ventus]

ˈwindless adj

ˈwindlessly adv

ˈwindlessness n

---

wind

(waɪnd)

vb, winds, winding or wound

1. (Textiles) (often foll by: around, about, or upon) to turn or coil (string, cotton, etc) around some object or point or (of string, etc) to be turned etc, around some object or point: he wound a scarf around his head.

2. (tr) to twine, cover, or wreathe by or as if by coiling, wrapping, etc; encircle: we wound the body in a shroud.

3. (Mechanical Engineering) (often foll by: up) to tighten the spring of (a clockwork mechanism)

4. (foll by: off) to remove by uncoiling or unwinding

5. (usually intr) to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course: the river winds through the hills.

6. (tr) to introduce indirectly or deviously: he is winding his own opinions into the report.

7. (tr) to cause to twist or revolve: he wound the handle.

8. (General Engineering) (tr; usually foll by up or down) to move by cranking: please wind up the window.

9. (Mechanical Engineering) (tr) to haul, lift, or hoist (a weight, etc) by means of a wind or windlass

10. (Building) (intr) (of a board, etc) to be warped or twisted

11. (intr) archaic to proceed deviously or indirectly

n

12. the act of winding or state of being wound

13. a single turn, bend, etc: a wind in the river.

14. (Building) Also called: winding a twist in a board or plank

[Old English windan; related to Old Norse vinda, Old High German wintan (German winden)]

ˈwindable adj

---

wind

(waɪnd)

vb, winds, winding, winded or wound

(Music, other) (tr) poetic to blow (a note or signal) on (a horn, bugle, etc)

[C16: special use of wind¹]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

wind¹

(n. wɪnd, Literary waɪnd; v. wɪnd)

n.

1. air in natural motion, as that moving horizontally at any velocity along the earth’s surface, caused by temperature differentials in air.

2. a gale; storm; hurricane.

3. any stream of air, as that produced by a bellows or fan.

5. wind instruments collectively, as distinguished from percussion and strings.

6. winds, the members of a band or orchestra playing wind instruments.

7. breath or breathing: to catch one’s wind.

8. the power of breathing freely, as during continued exertion.

9. any influential force or trend: the winds of public opinion.

10. a hint or intimation: to catch wind of a stock split.

11. air carrying an animal’s odor or scent.

12. empty talk; mere words.

13. vanity; conceit.

14. gas generated in the stomach and intestines.

v.t.

15. to expose to wind or air.

16. to follow by the scent.

17. to make short of wind or breath, as by vigorous exercise.

18. to let recover breath, as by resting after exertion.

v.i.

19. to catch the scent or odor of game.

Idioms:

1. how or which way the wind blows or lies, what the tendency or probability is.

2. in the teeth or eye of the wind, directly into or against the wind.

3. in the wind, about to occur; impending.

4. off the wind,

a. away from the wind; with the wind at one’s back.

b. (of a sailing vessel) headed into the wind with sails shaking or aback.

5. on the or a wind, as close as possible to the wind.

6. sail close to the wind,

a. to sail as nearly as possible in the direction from which the wind is blowing.

b. to practice economy in one’s affairs.

c. to verge on a breach of propriety or decency.

d. to take a risk.

7. take the wind out of one’s sails, to destroy one’s self-assurance; disconcert or deflate one.

[before 900; Middle English (n.), Old English, c. Old Frisian, Old Saxon wind, Old High German wint, Old Norse vindr, Gothic winds, Latin ventus]

syn: wind, breeze, zephyr, gust, blast refer to a current of air set in motion naturally. wind applies to air in motion, blowing with any degree of gentleness or violence: a strong wind; a westerly wind. A breeze is usu. a cool, light wind; technically, it is a wind of 4–31 mph: a refreshing breeze. zephyr, a literary word, refers to a soft, mild breeze: a zephyr whispering through palm trees. A gust is a sudden, brief rush of air: A gust of wind scattered the leaves. A blast is a brief but more violent rush of air, usu. a cold one: a wintry blast.

wind²

(waɪnd)

v. wound (waʊnd) or (Rare) wind•ed (ˌwaɪn dɪd) wind•ing; v.i.

1. to take a frequently bending course; change direction; meander: The stream winds through the forest.

2. to have a circular or spiral course or direction.

3. to coil or twine about something.

4. to proceed circuitously or indirectly.

5. to undergo winding or winding up.

6. to be twisted or warped, as a board.

v.t.

7. to encircle or wreathe, as with something twined, wrapped, or placed about.

8. to roll or coil (thread, string, etc.) into a ball, on a spool, or the like (often fol. by up).

9. to remove or take off by unwinding (usu. fol. by off or from): to wind thread off a bobbin.

10. to twine, fold, wrap, or place about something.

11. to make (a mechanism) operational by turning a key, crank, etc. (often fol. by up): to wind a clock.

12. to haul or hoist by means of a winch, windlass, or the like (often fol. by up).

13. to make (one’s or its way) in a bending or curving course.

14. to make (one’s or its way) by indirect, stealthy, or devious procedure: wound his way into our confidence.

15. wind down,

a. to bring or come to a gradual conclusion.

b. to calm down; relax.

16. wind up,

a. to bring or come to a conclusion: to wind up a campaign.

b. to end up: to wind up in jail.

c. to make tense or nervous; excite: She got all wound up before the game.

n.

17. the act of winding.

18. a single turn, twist, or bend of something wound.

19. a twist producing an uneven surface.

[before 900; Middle English; Old English windan, c. Old Saxon windan, Old High German wintan, Old Norse vinda, Gothic biwindan; akin to wend, wander]

wind³

(waɪnd, wɪnd)

v.t. wind•ed or wound (waʊnd) wind•ing.

1. to blow (a horn, etc.).

2. to sound by blowing.

[1375–1425; late Middle English; v. use of wind¹, with inflection influenced by wind²]

WInd or W.Ind.,

West Indian.

Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

wind

Global wind patterns are determined by differences in atmospheric pressure resulting from the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface by the sun. As warm, moist air rises along the equator, surface air moves in to take its place, creating the trade winds. Some of the air that descends at the two tropics moves away from the equator, creating the westerlies. The eastward and westward movement of these wind patterns is caused by the Earth’s clockwise rotation.

wind

(wĭnd)

A current of air, especially a natural one that moves along or parallel to the ground.

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.

Wind

an abnormal fear of wind.

Rare. the recording of the measurement of wind speed by an anemometer. — anemographic, adj.

the science of the winds. — anemological, adj.

an instrument for indicating wind velocity.

the measurement of wind speed and direction, often by an anemometrograph. — anemometric, anemometrical, adj.

wind-loving, said of plants that are fertilized only through the action of winds. — anemophile, n. — anemophilous, adj.

an abnormal fear of drafts or winds. — anemophobe, n.

an instrument for recording the direction of the wind.

a cold, dry wind that blows from the north or northeast in south central Europe.

a light wind, 4 to 27 knots on the Beaufort scale.

an atmospheric disturbance characterized by powerful winds spinning in the shape of a vertical cylinder or horizontal disk, accompanied by low pressure at the center. — cyclonic, adj.

the study of cyclones. — cyclonologist, n.

a warm, dry wind that blows down the side of a mountain, as on the north side of the Alps.

a strong wind, 28 to 55 knots on the Beaufort scale.

a heavy dust- or sandstorm of N. Africa, Arabia, and India.

a extremely strong wind, usually accompanied by foul weather, more than 65 knots on the Beaufort scale.

a strong east wind in the Mediterranean region.

a cold, dry wind that blows from the north in the south of France and vicinity.

a hot, dry, dust-bearing wind that blows from inland desert regions in southern California.

1. a hot, dry, dust-laden wind that blows on the northern Mediterranean coast from Africa.
2. a sultry southeast wind in the same regions.
3. a hot, oppressive wind of cyclonic origin, as in Kansas.

a highly localized, violent windstorm occurring over land, usually in the U.S. Midwest, characterized by a vertical, funnel-shaped cloud.

whirlwind.

a cyclone or hurricane in the western Pacific Ocean.

any wind that has a spinning motion and is conflned to a small area in the shape of a vertical cylinder.

-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Wind

 wind instruments in an orchestra; their players collectively, 1876.

Examples: wind of adulation, 1480; of doctrines, 1526; of hope, 1591; of laughter, 1859; of passions, 1665; of praise, 1634.

Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

Wind

 

See Also: WEATHER

1. Breeze [after a very hot day] … as torrid as the air from an oven —Ellen Glasgow
2. The breeze flowed down on me, passing like a light hand —Louise Erdrich
3. The breeze … sent little waves curling like lazy whips along the shingle [of a house] —John Fowles
4. A breeze which came like a breath —Paul Horgan
5. A draft … struck through his drenched clothes like ice cold needles —Cornell Woolrich
6. A gathering wind sent the willows tossing like a jungle of buggy whips —William Styron
7. High wind … like invisible icicles —Rebecca West
8. Level winds as flat as ribbons —M. J. Farrell
9. A northeaster roared down on us like a herd of drunken whales —T. Coraghessan Boyle
10. A northeast wind which cut like a thousand razors —Frank Swinnerton

    See Also: PAIN

11. A sandy wind blowing rough as an elephant —Truman Capote
12. The sound of wind is like a flame —Yvor Winters
13. The sunless evening wind slid down the mountain like an invisible river —Dorothy Canfield Fisher
14. The night wind rushed like a thief along the streets —Brian Moore
15. There came a wind like a bugle —Emily Dickinson

    This is both title and first line of a poem.

16. The warm spring wind fluttered against his face like an old kiss —Michael Malone
17. Wind … beat like a fist against his face —Vicki Baum
18. The wind blew gusts of wind into his face that were much like a shower-bath —Honore de Balzac
19. The wind blew him like a sail up against a lifeboat —F. Scott Fitzgerald
20. Wind … blowing down from a flat black sky like painted cardboard —Marge Piercy
21. Wind … driving the dry snow along with it like a mist of powdered diamonds —Henry Van Dyke
22. The wind drove against him like a granite cliff —Edith Wharton
23. Wind … dry and faint, like the breath of some old woman —Joe Coomer
24. Wind … dry and fresh as ice —Frank Ross
25. The wind filled his shirt like a white sail —Yitzhak Shenhar
26. The wind flicked about a little like the tail of a horse that’s trying to decide what sort of mood it’s in tonight —Douglas Adams
27. The wind howls like a chained beast in pain —Delmore Schwartz
28. The wind howls like air inside a shell —Tracy Daugherty
29. The wind is like a dog that runs away —Wallace Stevens
30. The wind is like a hand on my forehead, in caress —John Hall Wheelock
31. Wind like a hungry coyote’s cry —Patricia Henley
32. Wind like a perfumed woman in heat —Clive Irving
33. The wind like a razor —Miles Gibson
34. The wind like a saw-edged knife —Paul J. Wellman
35. The wind [in autumn] moves like a cripple among the leaves —Wallace Stevens
36. The wind plunged like a hawk from the swollen clouds —Ellen Glasgow
37. (The gray winter) wind prowling like a hungry wolf just beyond the windows —George Garrett
38. The wind ran in the street like a thin dog —Katherine Mansfield
39. Wind ringing in their ears like well-known old songs —Hans Christian Andersen
40. The wind rose out of the depth below them, sounding as if it were pushing boulders uphill —Martin Cruz Smith
41. Wind … rustling the … child’s hair like grass —Marguerite Duras
42. The wind screamed like a huge, injured thing —Scott Spencer
43. Wind … surges into your ear like breath coming and going —Philip Levine
44. The wind swept the snow aside, ever faster and thicker, as if it were trying to catch up with something —Boris Pasternak
45. The wind whistled … like a pack of coyotes —Paige Mitchell
46. A wind will … knock like a rifle-butt against the door —Wallace Stevens

    The comparison appears in Stevens’ poem, The Auroras of Autumn. The full line from which the rifle-butt comparison is taken includes “A wind will spread its windy grandeurs round and …”

Similes Dictionary, 1st Edition. © 1988 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.

wind

Wind can be a noun or a verb.

1. used as a noun

The wind /wɪnd/ is a current of air moving across the earth’s surface.

An icy wind brought clouds of snow.

Leaves were being blown along by the wind.

2. used as a verb

The verb wind /waɪnd/ has a completely different meaning. If a road or river winds in a particular direction, it goes in that direction with a lot of bends.

The river winds through miles of beautiful countryside.

The past tense and -ed participle of this verb is wound, pronounced /waʊnd/.

The road wound across the desolate plain.

You can also wind /waɪnd/ something around something else. For example, you can wind a wire around a stick. This means that you wrap the wire around the stick several times.

She started to wind the bandage around her arm.

He had a long scarf wound round his neck.

When you wind /waɪnd/ something such as a watch or a clock, you turn a knob or handle several times in order to make it operate.

I hadn’t wound my watch so I didn’t know the time.

3. ‘wound’

Wound can also be pronounced /wuːnd/. When it is pronounced like this, it is a noun or a verb, and it has a completely different meaning. A wound is damage to a part of your body, caused by a weapon.

They treated a soldier with a leg wound.

If someone wounds you, they damage your body using a weapon.

Her father was badly wounded in the war.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

wind

(current of air)

Past participle: winded
Gerund: winding

Imperative
wind
wind

Present
I wind
you wind
he/she/it winds
we wind
you wind
they wind

Preterite
I winded
you winded
he/she/it winded
we winded
you winded
they winded

Present Continuous
I am winding
you are winding
he/she/it is winding
we are winding
you are winding
they are winding

Present Perfect
I have winded
you have winded
he/she/it has winded
we have winded
you have winded
they have winded

Past Continuous
I was winding
you were winding
he/she/it was winding
we were winding
you were winding
they were winding

Past Perfect
I had winded
you had winded
he/she/it had winded
we had winded
you had winded
they had winded

Future
I will wind
you will wind
he/she/it will wind
we will wind
you will wind
they will wind

Future Perfect
I will have winded
you will have winded
he/she/it will have winded
we will have winded
you will have winded
they will have winded

Future Continuous
I will be winding
you will be winding
he/she/it will be winding
we will be winding
you will be winding
they will be winding

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been winding
you have been winding
he/she/it has been winding
we have been winding
you have been winding
they have been winding

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been winding
you will have been winding
he/she/it will have been winding
we will have been winding
you will have been winding
they will have been winding

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been winding
you had been winding
he/she/it had been winding
we had been winding
you had been winding
they had been winding

Conditional
I would wind
you would wind
he/she/it would wind
we would wind
you would wind
they would wind

Past Conditional
I would have winded
you would have winded
he/she/it would have winded
we would have winded
you would have winded
they would have winded

---

wind

(coil or twist)

Past participle: wound
Gerund: winding

Imperative
wind
wind

Present
I wind
you wind
he/she/it winds
we wind
you wind
they wind

Preterite
I wound
you wound
he/she/it wound
we wound
you wound
they wound

Present Continuous
I am winding
you are winding
he/she/it is winding
we are winding
you are winding
they are winding

Present Perfect
I have wound
you have wound
he/she/it has wound
we have wound
you have wound
they have wound

Past Continuous
I was winding
you were winding
he/she/it was winding
we were winding
you were winding
they were winding

Past Perfect
I had wound
you had wound
he/she/it had wound
we had wound
you had wound
they had wound

Future
I will wind
you will wind
he/she/it will wind
we will wind
you will wind
they will wind

Future Perfect
I will have wound
you will have wound
he/she/it will have wound
we will have wound
you will have wound
they will have wound

Future Continuous
I will be winding
you will be winding
he/she/it will be winding
we will be winding
you will be winding
they will be winding

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been winding
you have been winding
he/she/it has been winding
we have been winding
you have been winding
they have been winding

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been winding
you will have been winding
he/she/it will have been winding
we will have been winding
you will have been winding
they will have been winding

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been winding
you had been winding
he/she/it had been winding
we had been winding
you had been winding
they had been winding

Conditional
I would wind
you would wind
he/she/it would wind
we would wind
you would wind
they would wind

Past Conditional
I would have wound
you would have wound
he/she/it would have wound
we would have wound
you would have wound
they would have wound

---

wind

(blow bugle etc.)

Past participle: winded/wound
Gerund: winding

Imperative
wind
wind

Present
I wind
you wind
he/she/it winds
we wind
you wind
they wind

Preterite
I winded/wound
you winded/wound
he/she/it winded/wound
we winded/wound
you winded/wound
they winded/wound

Present Continuous
I am winding
you are winding
he/she/it is winding
we are winding
you are winding
they are winding

Present Perfect
I have winded/wound
you have winded/wound
he/she/it has winded/wound
we have winded/wound
you have winded/wound
they have winded/wound

Past Continuous
I was winding
you were winding
he/she/it was winding
we were winding
you were winding
they were winding

Past Perfect
I had winded/wound
you had winded/wound
he/she/it had winded/wound
we had winded/wound
you had winded/wound
they had winded/wound

Future
I will wind
you will wind
he/she/it will wind
we will wind
you will wind
they will wind

Future Perfect
I will have winded/wound
you will have winded/wound
he/she/it will have winded/wound
we will have winded/wound
you will have winded/wound
they will have winded/wound

Future Continuous
I will be winding
you will be winding
he/she/it will be winding
we will be winding
you will be winding
they will be winding

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been winding
you have been winding
he/she/it has been winding
we have been winding
you have been winding
they have been winding

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been winding
you will have been winding
he/she/it will have been winding
we will have been winding
you will have been winding
they will have been winding

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been winding
you had been winding
he/she/it had been winding
we had been winding
you had been winding
they had been winding

Conditional
I would wind
you would wind
he/she/it would wind
we would wind
you would wind
they would wind

Past Conditional
I would have winded/wound
you would have winded/wound
he/she/it would have winded/wound
we would have winded/wound
you would have winded/wound
they would have winded/wound

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Translations

• Defenition of the word wind

  • The motion of air relative to the earth’s surface; usually means horizontal air motion, as distinguished from vertical motion.
  • To wrap something in loops around something else.
  • a reflex that expels intestinal gas through the anus
  • raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help; «hoist the bicycle onto the roof of the car»
  • catch the scent of; get wind of; «The dog nosed out the drugs»
  • an indication of potential opportunity; «he got a tip on the stock market»; «a good lead for a job»
  • to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course: the river winds through the hills.
  • breath; «the collision knocked the wind out of him»
  • a tendency or force that influences events; «the winds of change»
  • air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure; «trees bent under the fierce winds»
  • extend in curves and turns; «The road winds around the lake»
  • empty or insincere or exaggerated talk; that’s a lot of wind»; «don’t give me any of that jazz»
  • the act of winding or twisting; «he put the key in the old clock and gave it a good wind»
  • tighten the spring of (a mechanisms); wind up the toy»
  • of springs
  • wrap around, move around
  • a musical instrument in which the sound is produced by an enclosed column of air that is moved by the breath
  • form into a wreath
  • empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk; «that»s a lot of wind»; «don»t give me any of that jazz»
  • air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure; «trees bent under the fierce winds»; «when there is no wind, row»; «the radioactivity was being swept upwards by the air current and out into the atmo
  • coil the spring of (some mechanical device) by turning a stem; «wind your watch»
  • wrap or coil around; «roll your hair around your finger»; «Twine the thread around the spool»
  • to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course; «the river winds through the hills»; «the path meanders through the vineyards»; «sometimes, the gout wanders through the entire body»
  • the act of winding or twisting
  • breath
  • an indication of potential opportunity
  • empty rhetoric or insincere or exaggerated talk
  • a tendency or force that influences events
  • air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure
  • raise or haul up with or as if with mechanical help
  • coil the spring of (some mechanical device) by turning a stem
  • arrange or or coil around
  • to move or cause to move in a sinuous, spiral, or circular course
  • catch the scent of; get wind of
  • extend in curves and turns

Synonyms for the word wind

• • airstream
  • bend
  • blustery weather
  • breaking wind
  • breeze
  • coil
  • confidential information
  • curl
  • current of air
  • curve
  • encircle
  • fart
  • farting
  • flatus
  • hint
  • hoist
  • idle words
  • jazz
  • lead
  • lift
  • make your way through
  • meander
  • nose
  • nothingness
  • roll
  • scent
  • snake
  • steer
  • storm
  • thread
  • tip
  • twist
  • twist and turn
  • weave
  • wind instrument
  • wind speed
  • wind up
  • winding
  • wrap
  • wrap around
  • wreathe

Similar words in the wind

• • nose out
  • roll up
  • scent out
  • smell out
  • sniff out
  • wind
  • wind’s
  • windbag
  • windbag’s
  • windbags
  • windbreak
  • windbreak’s
  • windbreaker
  • windbreakers
  • windbreaks
  • windburn
  • windburn’s
  • windburned
  • windburning
  • windburns
  • windfall
  • windfall’s
  • windfalls
  • windhoek
  • windhoek’s
  • windier
  • windiest
  • windiness
  • windiness’s
  • windjammer
  • windjammer’s
  • windjammers
  • windlass
  • windlass’s
  • windlasses
  • windmill
  • windmill’s
  • windmilled
  • windmilling
  • windmills
  • window
  • window’s
  • windowed
  • windowpane
  • windowpane’s
  • windowpanes
  • windows
  • windowsill
  • windowsill’s
  • windowsills
  • windpipe
  • windpipe’s
  • windpipes
  • windscreen
  • windscreen’s
  • windscreens
  • windshield
  • windshield’s
  • windshields
  • windsock
  • windsock’s
  • windsocks
  • windsor
  • windsor’s
  • windsors
  • windstorm
  • windstorm’s
  • windstorms
  • windsurf
  • windsurfed
  • windsurfing
  • windsurfs
  • windswept
  • windup
  • windup’s
  • windups
  • windward
  • windward’s
  • windy
  • wrap up

Meronymys for the word wind

• • air
  • bell
  • embouchure
  • mouthpiece

Hyponyms for the word wind

• • air
  • airstream
  • bagpipe
  • ball
  • blast
  • blizzard
  • blow
  • boreas
  • brass
  • brass instrument
  • breeze
  • brise
  • calm
  • calm air
  • catabatic wind
  • chinook
  • chinook wind
  • circumvolute
  • clew
  • clue
  • coil
  • crosswind
  • curl
  • cyclone
  • doldrums
  • draft
  • draught
  • east wind
  • easter
  • easterly
  • foehn
  • fohn
  • free-reed instrument
  • gale
  • gentle wind
  • gust
  • harmattan
  • headwind
  • high wind
  • hurricane
  • katabatic wind
  • kazoo
  • khamsin
  • loop
  • monsoon
  • north wind
  • norther
  • northerly
  • northwest wind
  • northwester
  • ocarina
  • organ
  • organ pipe
  • orkan
  • pandean pipe
  • panpipe
  • pipe
  • pipe organ
  • pipes
  • pipework
  • post horn
  • prevailing wind
  • reel
  • samiel
  • Santa Ana
  • simoom
  • simoon
  • snake
  • snow eater
  • sou’easter
  • sou’wester
  • south wind
  • southeaster
  • souther
  • southerly
  • southwester
  • spiral
  • spool
  • squall
  • storm
  • sturm
  • sweet potato
  • syrinx
  • tabor pipe
  • tailwind
  • tempest
  • the doldrums
  • thermal
  • tornado
  • trice
  • trice up
  • twister
  • typhoon
  • west wind
  • wester
  • whistle
  • wood
  • woodwind
  • woodwind instrument
  • zephyr
  • zug

Hypernyms for the word wind

• • atmospheric condition
  • be
  • breathing out
  • bring up
  • conditions
  • counsel
  • counseling
  • counselling
  • direction
  • displace
  • elevate
  • enlace
  • entwine
  • exhalation
  • expiration
  • fasten
  • get up
  • go
  • guidance
  • inborn reflex
  • influence
  • innate reflex
  • instinctive reflex
  • instrument
  • interlace
  • intertwine
  • lace
  • lift
  • locomote
  • move
  • musical instrument
  • physiological reaction
  • raise
  • reflex
  • reflex action
  • reflex response
  • rotary motion
  • rotation
  • smell
  • talk
  • talking
  • tighten
  • travel
  • twine
  • unconditioned reflex
  • weather
  • weather condition

Antonyms for the word wind

• • unroll
  • unwind
  • wind off

Idioms for the word wind

• • break wind
  • close to the wind
  • fair wind
  • foul wind
  • get one’s wind back
  • get the wind up
  • get wind of
  • go like the wind
  • pass wind
  • run like the wind
  • scattered to the four winds
  • second wind
  • see which way the wind is blowing
  • sow the wind and reap the whirlwind
  • the winds
  • trade wind
  • take the wind out of somebody’s sails
  • three sheets to the wind
  • throw caution to the wind
  • wind band
  • wind chart
  • wind chimes
  • wind cone
  • wind egg
  • wind farm
  • wind force
  • wind gun
  • wind instrument
  • wind power
  • wind rose
  • wind scale
  • wind shake
  • wind sleeve
  • wind sock
  • winds of change
  • wind tunnel

See other words

• • What is west
  • The definition of egg
  • The interpretation of the word vary
  • What is meant by abdomen
  • The lexical meaning make
  • The dictionary meaning of the word ski
  • The grammatical meaning of the word daigaku
  • Meaning of the word inside
  • Literal and figurative meaning of the word install
  • The origin of the word wait
  • Synonym for the word valley
  • Antonyms for the word vanish
  • Homonyms for the word vendor
  • Hyponyms for the word vigorously
  • Holonyms for the word vulnerable
  • Hypernyms for the word acqua
  • Proverbs and sayings for the word alto
  • Translation of the word in other languages anima

1	0   0 Air moving horizontally and/or vertically.

2	0   0 Wind The horizontal movement of air relative to the surface of the earth.

3	0   0 Wind The horizontal motion of the air past a given point. Winds begin with differences in air pressures. Pressure that’s higher at one place than another sets up a force pushing from the high toward t [..]

4	0   0 Wind «air in motion,» Old English wind «wind,» from Proto-Germanic *windaz (source also of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Middle Dutch, Dutch wind, Old Norse vindr, Old High German wind, Germa [..]

5	0   0 Wind «move by turning and twisting,» Old English windan «to turn, twist, plait, curl, brandish, swing» (class III strong verb; past tense wand, past participle wunden), from Proto-Germa [..]

6	0   0 Wind «to perceive by scent, get wind of,» c. 1400, from wind (n.1). Of horns, etc., «make sound by blowing through,» from 1580s. Meaning «tire, put out of breath; render temporaril [..]

7	0   0 Wind «an act of winding round,» 1825, from wind (v.1) . Earlier, «an apparatus for winding,» late 14c., in which use perhaps from a North Sea Germanic word, such as Middle Dutch, Middle [..]

8	0   0 Wind anemophobia

9	0   0 Wind blow (a bugle)

10	0   0 Wind movement of air (from a high pressure zone to a low pressure zone) caused by the uneven heating of the Earth by the sun.

11	0   0 Wind Air in motion relative to the surface of the earth. Since vertical components of atmospheric motion are relatively small, especially near the surface of the earth, meteorologists use the term to denot [..]

12	0   0 Wind Moving air. See related Wind Terms below and a full description in Weather Words.

13	0   0 Wind — Movement of air due to barometric presures that will affect the flight of the disc.

14	0   0 Wind air moving (sometimes with considerable force) from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure; "trees bent under the fierce winds"; "when there is no w [..]

15	0   0 Wind Natural motion of the air. There are four basic winds that golfers have to contend with: a headwind; a wind that blows squarely in their faces; a wind that blows from the green toward the tee; and a w [..]

16	0   0 Wind Air in motion relative to the surface of the Earth.

17	0   0 Wind (rhymes with tinned) fast-moving air that blows things about

18	0   0 Wind (rhymes with kind) to turn or twist something around, like winding up a ball of string

19	0   0 Wind the horizontal movement of air created by differing pressures of adjacent air masses. Air moves from high to low pressure areas.                                      [..]

20	0   0 Wind vint

21	0   0 Wind viklen zikh

22	0   0 Wind flatulence

23

0   0 Wind To dream of the wind blowing softly and sadly upon you, signifies that great fortune will come to you through bereavement. If you hear the wind soughing, denotes that you will wander in estrangement from one whose life is empty without you. To walk briskly against a brisk wind, foretells that you will courageously resist temptation and pursue fortu [..]

24	0   0 Wind Wind is the lateral movement of air from high to low pressure areas. Click here.

25	0   0 Wind A warp in a semi-finished stone slab to be removed by further fabrication.

26	0   0 Wind (n) — the movement of air horizontally due to differences in air pressure

27	0   0 Wind The horizontal movement of air; air motion along the Earth?s surface.

28	0   0 Wind horizontal movement of air caused by different air pressure. windbreak —

29	0   0 Wind Moving air, especially a natural and perceptible movement of air parallel to or along the ground.

30	0   0 Wind Wind turbine technologies, both onshore and offshore.

31	0   0 Wind Wind is the horizontal movement of air relative to the earth’s surface and is caused by variations in temperature and pressure (for instance, air rises as it warms and a cool breeze moves in to t [..]

32	0   0 Wind air in motion relative to the surface of the Earth

33	0   0 Wind A popular renewable source of electricity produced by wind.

34	0   0 Wind an intermittent generator. Wind cannot be called upon to provide power when it is required. It can only provide power when the wind blows. If the wind is blowing too hard (more than 90 km/h), the wind generators have to shut down to protect the blades from damage.

35	0   0 Wind The movement of an air mass.*

36	0   0 Wind Air that flows in relation to the earth’s surface, generally horizontally. There are four areas of wind that are measured: direction, speed, character (gusts and squalls), and shifts. Surface win [..]

37	0   0 Wind To catch the scent of game.

38	0   0 Wind The Motion of air relative to the earth’s surface.

39	0   0 Wind Air that is perceptibly in motion. See Beaufort Scale.

40	0   0 Wind Air in motion that moves relatively horizontally in relationship to the surface of the Earth.

41	0   0 Wind A natural motion of the air, especially a noticeable current of air moving in the atmosphere parallel to the Earth’s surface. Winds are caused by unequal heating and cooling of the Earth and atmo [..]

42	0   0 Wind To catch the scent of game.

43	0   0 Wind Moving air, especially a natural and perceptible movement of air parallel to or along the ground.

44	0   0 Wind (1) ‘To get under the wind’ of any affair is to get secret or early information about it. (2) The following rhyme has regard to the various winds:

45

0   0 Wind The horizontal motion of the air past a given point. Winds begin with differences in air pressures. Pressure that’s higher at one place than another sets up a force pushing from the high toward the low pressure. The greater the difference in pressures, the stronger the force. The distance between the area of high pressure and the area of low p [..]

46	0   0 Wind horizontal motion of air near the surface of the Earth. Wind Rose

47	0   0 Wind Wind is basically moving air. We can feel it on our skin and in our hair, and sometimes we hear it when it gets strong enough. It’s constantly in motion and pressing down on the Earth and everyth [..]

48	0   0 Wind n.(1) «wind,» s.v. wind sb.1 OED. KEY: wind@n1

49	0   0 Wind n1 61 wind 1 wynd 47 wynde 3 wyndes 10

50	0   0 Wind In the general direction from which the wind blows; in the wind; on the weather side. The opposite is LEEWARD.

51	0   0 Wind wind (w/d)direction (w/s)speed

52	0   0 Wind a natural movement of air at a velocity relative to the surface of earth.

53	0   0 Wind The aircraft carrier likes to have close to 30 knots of wind down the deck for aircraft launch and landings. If there’s natural wind, the Captain heads the carrier into the wind to launch. For la [..]

54	0   0 Wind Air in motion relative to the surface of the earth; generally used to denote horizontal movement.

55	0   0 Wind Air in motion, important to aviation because it influences flight to a certain degree.

56	0   0 Wind This event card when played on the appropriate species will allow some plants to SPREAD. (No longer needed as SPREAD mechanic has been removed from the current rules).

57	0   0 Wind – This is a wind that correlates to a player’s seat at the table.

58	0   0 Wind – This is the wind that makes up the round.

59	0   0 Wind – This is a wind that correlates to a player’s seat.

60

0   0 Wind The horizontal motion of the air past a given point. Winds begin with differences in air pressures. Pressure that’s higher at one place than another sets up a force pushing from the high toward the low pressure. The greater the difference in pressures, the stronger the force. The distance between the area of high pressure and the area of low p [..]

61

0   0 Wind Air in motion relative to the surface of the earth. Wind develops from pressure differences in the air. An area of high pressure and low pressure oppose each other and set up a pressure gradient force that moves from high to low pressure. This force creates a wind as air is pushed in the according direction. The stronger the pressure difference, th [..]

62

0   0 Wind Air that flows in relation to the earth’s surface, generally horizontally. There are four areas of wind that are measured: direction, speed, character (gusts and squalls), and shifts. Surface winds are measured by wind vanes and anemometers, while upper level winds are detected through pilot balloons, rawin, or aircraft reports.

63

0   0 Wind The movement of air across the Earth’s surface. The wind is a continuous succession of gusts and lulls (quiet intervals) associated with equally rapid changes of direction over a range which may exceed 30°. The mean wind speed over a period of time is therefore the mean of many gusts and lulls. The standard measure of ‘mean’ wind is [..]

64	0   0 Wind Go to the Wind Info Page

65	0   0 Wind Wind is defined as air in motion. It represents the horizontal flow of air at a height of 10 metres. Wind information includes direction, speed and character. Wind in the first ten’s of metres ab [..]

66	0   0 Wind Air in motion relative to the Earth’s surface.

67	0   0 Wind Air that flows in relation to the earth’s surface, generally horizontally. There are four areas of wind that are measured: direction, speed, character (gusts and squalls), and shifts. Surface win [..]

68	0   0 Wind Air in motion relative to the surface of the earth. Wind Chill

69	0   0 Wind Horizontal movement of air.

70	0   0 Wind Air that flows in relation to the earth’s surface, generally horizontally. There are four areas of wind that are measured: direction, speed, character (gusts and squalls), and shifts. Surface win [..]

71	0   0 Wind Air

72	0   0 Wind The flow of air on a large scale.

73	0   0 Wind NASA satellite for observing the solar wind, located near the Lagrange L1 point. (http://pwg.gsfc.nasa.gov/istp/wind/)

74	0   0 Wind The horizontal motion of the air past a given point. Winds begin with differences in air pressures. Pressure that’s higher at one place than another sets up a force pushing from the high toward t [..]

75	0   0 Wind CHILL INDEX The calculation of temperature that takes into consideration the effects of wind and temperature on the human body. Describes the average loss of body heat and how the temperature feels. T [..]

76	0   0 Wind DIRECTION The direction from which the wind is blowing. For example, an easterly wind is blowing from the east, not toward the east. It is reported with reference to true north, or 360 degrees on the [..]

77	0   0 Wind RUN The distance the Wind has travelled. i.e. the Wind Run for a constant wind speed 20mph for 2 hours is 40 miles.   Wind Run = Wind Speed X Time

78	0   0 Wind SPEED The rate of the motion of the air on a unit of time. It can be measured in a number of ways. In observing, it is measured in knots, or nautical miles per hour. The unit most often used in the UK [..]

79

0   0 Wind Air that flows in relation to the earth’s surface, generally horizontally. There are four areas of wind that are measured: direction, speed, character (gusts and squalls), and shifts. Surface winds are measured by wind vanes and anemometers, while upper level winds are detected through pilot balloons, rawin, or aircraft reports.

80	0   0 Wind On some tape machines, the wind control moves the tape to the take-up reel faster than the play mode but slow enough to give the tape a smooth packing onto the reel.

81	0   0 Wind |Wind

82	0   0 Wind An air mass moving in Earth�s atmosphere.

83	0   0 Wind WIND «AM 560» is a radio station based in Chicago, Illinois, broadcasting its talk radio format on 560 kHz. Studios are located in suburban Elk Grove Village, while it transmits from a four-tower arr [..]

84	0   0 Wind The Global Geospace Science (GGS) Wind satellite is a NASA science spacecraft launched on November 1, 1994, at 09:31 UTC, from launch pad 17B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) in Merritt Isl [..]

85	0   0 Wind Wind is the movement of air. Wind may also refer to: Wind god or the winds, deities representing wind Solar wind, a stream of charged particles ejected from the sun Planetary wind, the outgassing of [..]

86	0   0 Wind Wind is a German musical group that mostly plays schlager music. The band is still active, more than 20 years after its foundation.

87	0   0 Wind Wind is a 1992 film. The movie was directed by Carroll Ballard and starred Matthew Modine, Jennifer Grey and Cliff Robertson.

88	0   0 Wind Wind (stylized as WIND) is a Japanese Pop song by Kyoto-born singer Koda Kumi and is the eleventh single in her 12 Singles Collection. Much like the other singles in the collection, this single is als [..]

89	0   0 Wind Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. (also known as Wind Italy) was an Italian telecom operator which offers integrated mobile, fixed telephony and Internet services (under Wind brand for mobile and busines [..]

90	0   0 Wind Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. (also known as Wind Italy) was an Italian telecom operator which offers integrated mobile, fixed telephony and Internet services (under Wind brand for mobile and busines [..]

91	0   0 Wind Wind Tower is a skyscraper in Downtown Miami, Florida, United States. It was completed in early 2008. It is located adjacent to the River Front East complex, on the north bank of the Miami River in D [..]

92	0   0 Wind Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On the surface of the Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the Su [..]

93	0   0 Wind Wind is the flow of gases on a large scale. On the surface of the Earth, wind consists of the bulk movement of air. In outer space, solar wind is the movement of gases or charged particles from the Su [..]

94	0   0 Wind WIND may refer to: WIND (spacecraft), a satellite and NASA science spacecraft launched in 1994 WIND (AM), an American radio station based in Chicago. Illinois WIND Hellas, a Greek telecommunications [..]