dust devil
English
Alternative forms
- dustdevil, dust-devil
Etymology
From dust and devil
Pronunciation
IPA(key): /dʌst ˈdɛvəl/
Noun
dust devil (plural dust devils)
- A small atmospheric vortex appearing in clear, dry conditions, made visible by swirling dust picked up from the ground.
- A dust devil may look harmless, but a large one can overturn a car.
Synonyms
- sand pillar
- willy willy (Australia)
Coordinate terms
- landspout
- spout
- thermal
- tornado
- whirl
- whirlwind
Related terms
- devil
- fire devil
- steam devil
Translations
a swirling dust in the air
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See also
- cyclone
- hurricane
- tornado
Further reading
- dust devil on Wikipedia.Wikipedia