tsunami

CEFRB1

/(t)suːˈnɑːmi/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

Examples

At a glance

Sits at B1 on the CEFR scale

Also pronounced

Deep Dive

Extra meaning

A very large and destructive wave, generally caused by a tremendous disturbance in the ocean, such as an undersea earthquake or volcanic eruption; often a series of waves (a wave train).

In context

There was an earthquake and, in addition, there was a tsunami.
A tsunami struck Japan recently.
A wave simulator in the tank can re-enact tsunamis and northeasters, and imitate wave conditions from midocean.

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Question 1 · Quick check

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The word in print, with each source given in full.

A wave simulator in the tank can re-enact tsunamis and northeasters, and imitate wave conditions from midocean.
2007 February 20, Tina Kelley, “A Wet Wind Tunnel So Ships Can Move Faster and Better”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 18 Dec 2022
One indispensable and thankless Unesco task is organizing tsunami warnings systems and pushing for tsunami education on risky shores around the world.
2011 November 11, Andrew C. Revkin, “Dot Connection: From Palestinian Politics to Tsunami Warnings”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCL...
It seemed that what started out as a handful of isolated cases gradually turned into a tsunami of complaints.
2009, John Bernard Kelly, An Accidental Atheist: A Memoir, Aquinine books, →ISBN, page 306
It set off a tsunami of debate among the more esoteric critics, who either loved it or hated it but could not ignore it.
2009, Marc Eliot, American Rebel: The Life of Clint Eastwood, Crown Archetype, →ISBN, page 86
The next decade would culminate in a tsunami of legislation, civil litigation, and criminal prosecutions in which assisted suicide was both criminalized (as in Michigan) and decriminalized (as in Oregon).
2012, Demetra M. Pappas, The Euthanasia/Assisted-Suicide Debate, ABC-CLIO, →ISBN, page 60

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Borrowed from Japanese 津波 (tsunami), from 津 (tsu, “harbour”) + 波 (nami, “wave”).