ENGLISH
REFERENCE

tornado

n. · v.
US //tɔɹˈneɪˌdoʊ// UK //tɔːnˈeɪdəʊ// tor·na·do
  1. 1 energetic person or thing (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    a person or thing that moves very fast and causes a lot of excitement or mess.

    a person or thing characterized by great energy, speed, or a tendency to cause chaotic disruption.

    Example

    The toddler was like a little tornado, leaving toys all over the living room.

    Example

    The new CEO moved through the department like a tornado, restructuring entire teams within her first week on the job.
  2. 2 to move violently (v.)
    C2 Proficiency Literary

    to move through a place with great speed and force, often causing damage.

    to move or sweep through a location with the destructive force or rapid rotation characteristic of a storm.

    Example

    The angry crowd tornadoed through the streets after the game ended.

    Example

    The scandal tornadoed through the capital, upending political careers and leaving the administration in a state of total disarray.
Origin

From earlier English ternado, attested since the 1550s as a nautical term for a windy thunderstorm. From Spanish tronada (“thunderstorm”), from tronar (“to thunder”), from Latin tonō (“to thunder”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂- (“to thunder”). The o and r were reversed in English (metathesis) under influence of Spanish tornar (“to twist, to turn”), from Latin tornō (“to turn”).

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Last updated June 20, 2026