dust devil

Thân thiện

A small dust devil spins across the empty desert road.

Definition

1. Noun:
   • A small, rapidly rotating column of air that picks up dust, leaves, and other light debris from the ground: A "dust devil" is a weather phenomenon, a type of whirlwind, that is visible because of the material it lifts. It is typically smaller and less intense than a tornado.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • We saw a dust devil swirling across the empty field.
  • The sudden dust devil scattered our picnic papers.
  • Dust devils are common in dry, hot, and flat areas during the afternoon.

Advanced Usage

• "to kick up a dust devil": to cause or create a swirling cloud of dust, often metaphorically.
  • The speeding car kicked up a dust devil on the dirt road.
• Scientific context: In meteorology, a dust devil is distinguished from a tornado as it forms from the ground up on clear, hot days due to surface heating, not from a thunderstorm cloud.

Variants and Related Words

• Whirlwind (n): A more general term for any rotating column of air.
• Sand pillar (n): A less common synonym, especially when occurring in sandy areas.

Synonyms

• Whirlwind: A rotating column of air.
• Duster (informal, regional): A term sometimes used for a dust devil.

Related Phrases

• Dust storm (n): A much larger and more severe weather event involving widespread, wind-driven dust, not a localized vortex like a dust devil.

Related Idioms

• To raise a dust devil: To cause a commotion or stir up trouble, drawing from the chaotic, swirling nature of the phenomenon.
  • His controversial comments raised a dust devil in the media.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a miniature whirlwind strong enough to whip dust and leaves and litter into the air