- the condition of the atmosphere at a particular place and time, such as the temperature, and if there is wind, rain, sun, etc.
- cold/hot/warm/wet/dry weather
- severe/extreme weather
- good/bad weather
- Flights have been delayed because of the inclement weather.
- Weather conditions are set to improve by Thursday.
- concerns about changing weather patterns
- We'll have the party outside, weather permitting (= if it doesn't rain).
- in … weather I'm not going out in this weather!
- Did you have good weather on your trip?
- The winter weather kept us from going out for a walk.
- His flight was cancelled due to bad weather.
- What sort of weather did you have?
- poor/fine weather
- What's the weather like?
- I've been enjoying this beautiful weather.
- There's going to be a change in the weather.
- if the weather holds/breaks (= if the good weather continues/changes)
- The weather is very changeable at the moment.
- ‘Are you going to the beach tomorrow?’ ‘It depends on the weather.’
- a weather report
- a weather map/chart
- The tent protected us from the worst of the weather.
Homophones weather | whetherweather whether/ˈweðə(r)//ˈweðər/- weather noun
- Next day the weather turned cold.
- weather verb
- Be prepared to weather a storm of criticism.
- whether conjunction
- You'll have wonderful views whether you travel by sea or by air.
Collocations The weatherThe weatherGood weather- be bathed in/bask in/be blessed with/enjoy bright/brilliant/glorious sunshine
- the sun shines/warms something/beats down (on something)
- the sunshine breaks/streams through something
- fluffy/wispy clouds drift across the sky
- a gentle/light/stiff/cool/warm/sea breeze blows in/comes in off the sea
- the snow crunches beneath/under somebody’s feet/boots
- thick/dark/storm clouds form/gather/roll in/cover the sky/block out the sun
- the sky darkens/turns black
- a fine mist hangs in the air
- a dense/heavy/thick fog rolls in
- the rain falls/comes down (in buckets/sheets)/pours down
- snow falls/comes down/covers something
- the wind blows/whistles/howls/picks up/whips through something/sweeps across something
- strong/gale-force winds blow/gust (up to 80 mph)
- a storm is approaching/is moving inland/hits/strikes/rages
- thunder rolls/rumbles/sounds
- (forked/sheet) lightning strikes/hits/flashes
- a (blinding/snow) blizzard hits/strikes/blows/rages
- a tornado touches down/hits/strikes/destroys something/rips through something
- forecast/expect/predict rain/snow/a category-four hurricane
- (North American English) pour (down)/ (British English) pour (down) with rain
- get caught in/seek shelter from/escape the rain
- be covered/shrouded in mist/a blanket of fog
- be in for/brave/shelter from a/the storm
- hear rolling/distant thunder
- be battered/buffeted by strong winds
- (British English) be blowing a gale
- battle against/brave the elements
- the sun breaks through the clouds
- the sky clears/brightens (up)/lightens (up)
- the clouds part/clear
- the rain stops/lets up/holds off
- the wind dies down
- the storm passes
- the mist/fog lifts/clears
Culture weatherweatherThe popular view of the British weather is that it rains all the time. This is not true and Britain gets no more rain in an average year than several other European countries. In some summers the country goes for weeks with nothing more than a shower . Perhaps the main characteristic of Britain's weather is that it is hard to predict. This is probably why people regularly listen to weather forecasts on radio and television. However, the weather forecasters are sometimes wrong.The British are not used to extremes. In summer the temperature rarely goes higher than 30°C (86° F). Heatwaves are rare events. In winter the south and west are fairly mild. The east and north get much colder, with hard frosts and snow. A cold snap (= period of very cold weather) or heavy falls of snow can cause all forms of transport to stop.Samuel Johnson observed that ‘when two Englishmen meet their first talk is of the weather’, and this is still true. The weather is a safe, polite topic of conversation. Most British people would agree that bright weather with some sun, not too hot and with enough rain to water their gardens, is good. Bad weather usually means days with a lot of cloud and rain or, in winter, fog or snow. The British tend to expect the worst as far as the weather is concerned and it is part of national folklore that summer bank holidays will be wet. It may be pouring with rain, teeming down, bucketing, or even just drizzling or spitting, but it will be wet.The US is large enough to have several different climates, and so the weather varies between regions. The average lowest temperature in Grand Forks, North Dakota in winter is almost −20° C (−3° F); in the summer in Arizona it is often above 40° C (104° F). Arizona gets less than an inch/2.5 centimetres of rain most months; the state of Washington can get 6 inches/15 centimetres. The Northeast and Midwest have cold winters with a lot of snow, and summers that are very hot and humid . The South has hot, humid summers but moderate winters. The Southwest, including Arizona and New Mexico, is dry and warm in the winter and very hot in the summer. Some parts of the US suffer tornadoes and hurricanes.In autumn people put storm doors and windows on their houses, an extra layer of glass to keep out the cold wind. Cities in the snow belt have several snow days each winter, days when people do not go to school or work. But then snowploughs (NAmE snowplows) clear the roads and life goes on, even when the weather is bad.Many people in Britain and the US, as elsewhere, are worried about global warming due to emissions from vehicles and factories of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N2O) and the extent of climate change this may cause.Extra ExamplesTopics Weathera1- Atlantic weather systems
- Bad weather threatened.
- Deciding to brave the weather, he grabbed his umbrella and went out.
- He swims in the sea every day, whatever the weather.
- I sat outside as often as the weather allowed.
- I wanted to mend the roof before the cold weather set in.
- If the weather holds out we could go swimming later.
- It was sunny until the weekend, but then the weather broke.
- Next day the weather turned cold.
- She packed all kinds of clothes to cope with the vagaries of the English weather.
- She packed to cope with the vagaries of New York's weather.
- Stormy weather prevented any play in today's tennis.
- The fine weather brings out butterflies.
- The plane crashed into the sea in adverse weather conditions.
- The weather closed in and the climbers had to take shelter.
- The weather looks beautiful today.
- We hadn't bargained for such a dramatic change in the weather.
- We'll go just as soon as this weather lets up.
- We're having a barbecue next Saturday, weather permitting.
- We've had great weather all week.
- a spell of unseasonably warm weather.
- an increase in extreme weather events
- the effects of global warming on the world's weather patterns
- I don't know whether we'll go—it depends on the weather.
- The weather was awful.
- We'll have lunch outside, weather permitting.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- beautiful
- excellent
- fair
- …
- spell
- enjoy
- have
- brave
- …
- clear
- clear up
- improve
- …
- conditions
- patterns
- system
- …
- a change in the weather
- in all weather
- in all weather conditions
- …
Take your English to the next level
The Oxford Learner’s Thesaurus explains the difference between groups of similar words. Try it for free as part of the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary app
- the weather(informal) a report of what the weather will be like, on the radio or television, in the newspapers or online
- to listen to/watch the weather
- And now for the weather.
- I checked the weather this morning.
Word OriginOld English weder, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch weer and German Wetter, probably also to the noun wind1.
Idioms
See weather in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee weather in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbrass monkeys | brass monkey weather
- (British English, slang) if you say that it is brass monkeys or brass monkey weather, you mean that it is very cold weather
in all weathers
- in all kinds of weather, good and bad
- She goes out jogging in all weathers.
- The lifeboat crews go out in all weather(s).
keep a weather eye on somebody/something
- to watch somebody/something carefully in case you need to take action
- Keep a weather eye on your competitors.
make heavy weather of something
- to seem to find something more difficult or complicated than it needs to be
- People in this country make such heavy weather of learning languages.
under the weather
- (informal) if you are or feel under the weather, you feel slightly ill and not as well as usualTopics Health problemsc2
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weather