torrent
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a large amount of water moving very quickly and with great force.
n.a violent or rapid stream of water or other liquid, often resulting from heavy rain or melting snow.
Simple“After the heavy storm, the small stream turned into a dangerous torrent.”
In context“The mountain path was completely washed away when the melting snow transformed the creek into a roaring torrent of mud and debris.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
n.a very large amount of something that comes at you suddenly, like words, feelings, or information.
n.a sudden, violent, or overwhelming outpouring of something non-physical, such as speech, emotions, or data.
Simple“The company received a torrent of complaints after the website crashed.”
In context“The politician's controversial remarks triggered a torrent of abuse on social media, forcing his office to issue a formal apology within hours.”
Synonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
n.a file shared on the internet using a system where many people send parts of the file to each other.
n.a metadata file used in peer-to-peer file sharing that contains information about the files to be distributed.
Simple“He downloaded a torrent of the open-source software to save time.”
In context“The legal team argued that simply hosting a torrent file did not constitute a direct copyright violation under current digital statutes.”
- 04 C1 Advanced
v.to download a file using a peer-to-peer network.
v.to transfer data using a peer-to-peer protocol, typically BitTorrent.
Simple“Many people torrent large video files because it is faster than a direct download.”
In context“The university network administrators implemented a policy to throttle bandwidth for students who were caught torrenting large datasets during peak hours.”
UsageThe verb is transitive and requires a direct object.
“The deadly Himalayan torrent damaged roads and dozens of bridges.”
Borrowed from French torrent, from Italian torrente, from Latin torrentem, accusative of torrēns (“burning, seething, roaring”), from Latin torrēre (“to parch, scorch”).
From BitTorrent and the file extension it uses for metadata (.torrent); ultimately from etymology 1, carrying the notion of the flow of information.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.