tsunami

noun

tsu·​na·​mi (t)su̇-ˈnä-mē How to pronounce tsunami (audio)
plural tsunamis also tsunami
: a great sea wave produced especially by submarine earth movement or volcanic eruption : tidal wave
tsunamic adjective

Examples of tsunami in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In March 2011 the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan was damaged by an earthquake and tsunami, causing widespread power outages. Sabrina Weiss, WIRED, 20 Mar. 2024 This is the exact area in the Tohoku region that was hardest hit by the earthquake and resulting tsunami on March 11, 2011 — 13 years ago this month — taking the lives of nearly 18,000 people, in one of the greatest natural disasters in modern history. Rachel Chang, Travel + Leisure, 13 Mar. 2024 An 2011 earthquake and tsunami damaged the Fukushima plant’s power supply and reactor cooling functions, triggering meltdowns of three reactors and causing large amounts of radioactive wastewater to accumulate. Mari Yamaguchi, Quartz, 13 Mar. 2024 There was a meme tsunami making fun of the fact that Kate had supposedly Photoshopped the photo—with even the Dublin Airport jumping in on the fun. Sydney Lake, Fortune, 11 Mar. 2024 Support for nuclear power has only slowly recovered 13 years after a tsunami triggered the triple meltdown at Japan’s Fukushima Dai-Ichi atomic plant, which is still laden with tens of billions of dollars in clean-up costs. Jonathan Tirone, Bloomberg.com, 8 Mar. 2024 These are the first moments a series of strong earthquakes struck Japan, triggering tsunami waves which have begun hitting Honshu. USA TODAY, 23 Feb. 2024 Where Putin did attempt concretely to push disinformation, a tsunami of ripostes blanketed the internet. Melik Kaylan, Forbes, 10 Feb. 2024 Natural Disasters - In 2010, an 8.8 magnitude earthquake struck Chile, leading to widespread damage and triggering a tsunami that affected several coastal towns in the region. Erik Kain, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'tsunami.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Japanese, from tsu harbor + nami wave

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of tsunami was in 1896

Dictionary Entries Near tsunami

Cite this Entry

“Tsunami.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tsunami. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

tsunami

noun
tsu·​na·​mi (t)su̇-ˈnäm-ē How to pronounce tsunami (audio)
: a great sea wave produced especially by an earthquake or volcanic eruption under the sea : tidal wave
Etymology

Japanese, from tsu "harbor" + nami "wave"

More from Merriam-Webster on tsunami

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!