See Also: avalanche(dictionary)
avalanche(encyclopedia)
avalanche(dictionary)
avalanche conduction(medicine)

avalanche (iou)



avalanche noun & verb. L18.

A. noun.
A large mass of snow, rocks, and ice, moving swiftly down a mountainside. L18.
transf. & fig. A sudden onrush or descent; a rapidly descending mass. M19.
A. G. Gardiner An avalanche of indignant protests and appeals burst on him. C. McCullers He grasped the scuttle..and rattled an avalanche of coal on the fire. H. Arendt The Nazis let loose an avalanche of laws and decrees.
b. Physics. A process of cumulative ionization in which each electron and ion generates further charged particles. Also more fully Townsend avalanche. Freq. attrib. M20.
Comb.: avalanche lily N. Amer. an erythronium commonly found near the snowline, esp. the yellow Erythronium grandiflorum.
b. verb.
verb intrans. Descend in or like an avalanche. L19.
M. Twain We avalanched from one side of the stage[-coach] to the other.
verb trans. Strike, carry, or envelop (as) by an avalanche. L19.
Daily Telegraph Just one touch of rustique from a designer who used to avalanche us with folklore: cream, Aran-knit coats..glamorised by lynx collars. P. Gillman He and three other men were avalanched.
verb intrans. Physics. Undergo a rapid increase in conductivity due to an avalanche process. M20.
avalanchy adjective susceptible to avalanches L19.