weather
/ˈwɛðə
/noun [mass noun]
1The state of the atmosphere at a particular place and time as regards heat, cloudiness, dryness, sunshine, wind, rain, etc. if the weather’s good we can go for a walk...
- Due to the bad weather, torrential rain and wind, the game was halted after the first half.
- After basking in hot summer sunshine, the weather broke and torrential rain and flash floods brought chaos across Greater Manchester.
- The Met Office has predicted an unsettled period of weather with rain and wind.
Synonyms
meteorological conditions, atmospheric conditions, meteorology, climate;
temperature, humidity, cloud cover, wind speed, atmospheric pressure;
elements;
forecast, outlook
informal met, met report
1.1Cold, wet, and unpleasant or unpredictable atmospheric conditions: stone walls provide shelter from wind and weather...
- We shelter from the weather under a clump of trees.
- Attaching these to a wall or covering in on one or two sides will help protect those using the shelter from the weather.
1.2 [as modifier] Denoting the side from which the wind is blowing, especially on board a ship; windward: the weather side of the yacht...Contrasted with lee.
- Take the man alongside your boat so the man is on the weather side of your boat.
- Normal deck duties were not possible, so we continually chipped ice from the weather side, as the sea froze on the deck.
- The second attempt was made by running in from the stern and passing close down the weather side.
verb [with object]
1Wear away or change the appearance or texture of (something) by long exposure to the atmosphere: [with object and complement]: his skin was weathered almost black by his long outdoor life...
- Old, his face was weathered and wrinkled, but he always had a smile for the strange woman and her sporadic emotional outbursts.
- A small crevice in the cliff allowed them passage, into a very small, shadowy space between many boulders and the remains of a gnarled, weathered tree.
- Bill Harney has the gnarled hands and weathered hat of a lifetime's work with cattle.
Synonyms
weather-beaten, eroded, worn, disintegrating, crumbling;
bleached, discoloured, tanned, bronzed;
lined, creased, wrinkled, wizened, shrivelled, gnarled
1.1 [no object] (Of rock or other material) be worn away or altered by long exposure to the atmosphere: the ice sheet preserves specimens that would weather away more quickly in other regions...
- Materials have weathered well in the ten years since the building was completed.
- Requiring no artificial preservative, the wood weathers naturally and turning silver with age will merge into water and sky.
- As carbonate rocks weather, the insoluble fractions are introduced into the cave deposits.
2(Of a ship) come safely through (a storm): the sturdy boat had weathered the storm well...
- His ships weathered the storm, sailed west and reached Honduras in Central America.
- He aides the Master of the ship in trying to weather the storm.
- Vessels sheltering in the marina seemed to weather the storms very successfully.
2.1Withstand (a difficulty or danger): this year has tested industry’s ability to weather recession...
- The news was welcomed by traders in the city who have weathered a difficult winter, as they vowed to keep up the momentum.
- We have been able, therefore, to weather a very difficult economic climate.
- ‘We have successfully weathered the most difficult times in recent years,’ chairman and managing director Lo Yuk-sui said.
Synonyms
survive, come/get through, ride out, live through, pull through, come through (unscathed), outlast, outlive;
withstand, stand up to, bear up against, stand, endure, rise above, surmount, overcome, resist
informal stick out
2.2 Sailing Get to the windward of (a cape).The ship could not weather the Cape Jackson point and was gradually driven on the lee shore.
3Make (boards or tiles) overlap downwards to keep out rain.
3.1(In building) slope or bevel (a surface) to throw off rain.
4 (usually as noun weathering) Falconry Allow (a hawk) to spend a period perched in the open air.Bobby hoisted his one-year-old son, Aidan, into a backpack and went to transfer two pet hawks from their outdoor weathering perch to an indoor mews....
- The outdoor facilities are often called the ‘weathering areas’; these areas should be covered with wire or netting or roofed, so that the Red Tailed Hawk is not bothered by other animals.
- General weathering is very important for young birds.
Phrases
end of the golden weather
in all weathers
keep a weather eye on
make heavy weather of
under the weather
Origin
Old English weder, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch weer and German Wetter, probably also to the noun wind1.
wither from Late Middle English:
Wither and weather (Old English) seem to be the same word, the different forms coming to be used for different senses. Weather itself is from a Germanic root linked to wind. The phrase wither away originated in early 20th century tracts about Marxist philosophy describing the decline of the state after a dictatorship has effected changes in society such that the state's domination is no longer necessary.