Definition

1. Noun:
   • A small, hard ball of ice that falls from the sky during a hailstorm: A hailstone is a single, solid pellet of ice, typically spherical or irregular in shape, that forms in thunderstorm clouds and falls to the ground as precipitation.

Usage and Examples

• Noun:
  • The hailstorm was so intense that hailstones the size of golf balls damaged cars and roofs.
  • We could hear the loud sound of hailstones hitting the windowpane.
  • A single large hailstone can contain many layers of ice.

Advanced Usage and Notes

• Formation: Hailstones form when updrafts in thunderstorms carry raindrops upward into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere, where they freeze. Layers of ice can accumulate as the stone is repeatedly carried up and down, growing larger.
• Measurement: Hailstones are often measured by their diameter (e.g., pea-sized, marble-sized, golf ball-sized) to describe the severity of a storm.
• "Hailstone" vs. "Hail": "Hail" is the collective, uncountable term for the precipitation (e.g., ). "Hailstone" refers to an individual piece of that precipitation.

Variants and Related Words

• Hail (n): The collective term for the icy precipitation consisting of many hailstones.
  • The crop was destroyed by the hail.
• Hailstorm (n): A storm during which hail falls.
  • A sudden hailstorm interrupted the picnic.

Synonyms

• Ice pellet: A more general term for a small ball of ice falling as precipitation.

Related Phrases and Collocations

• Hailstone damage: Damage caused by falling hailstones.
  • The insurance claim was for hailstone damage to the vehicle.
• Hailstone layer: A visible layer of ice within a large hailstone, indicating a cycle of growth.
• Hailstone size: The diameter of an individual hailstone.

Noun

1. small pellet of ice that falls during a hailstorm