dust devil

noun

: a small whirlwind containing sand or dust

Examples of dust devil in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web There was an extreme heat advisory in effect for parts of Riverside County on the day of the accident, but dust devils can form in all types of conditions, Munyan said. Nathan Solis, Los Angeles Times, 9 Aug. 2024 Woman speaks out after dust devil lifts inflatable jumper 100 feet EMS crews who were already at the stadium, trainers from the baseball team and several volunteer first responders who were in attendance, rushed to the children's aid, according to county officials. Ivan Pereira, ABC News, 3 Aug. 2024 Take it from storm chaser Brian Verhoeven who filmed the entire experience as a large dust devil traveled along the historical Route 66 in western Arizona. Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 15 Apr. 2024 While most fire whirls form in a similar ground-up fashion as dust devils, strong wind shear created by the fire itself can force those pyrocumulonimbus clouds to acquire the rotation needed to generate a tornado. Dennis Mersereau, WIRED, 22 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for dust devil 

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

Word History

First Known Use

1888, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dust devil was in 1888

Dictionary Entries Near dust devil

Cite this Entry

“Dust devil.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dust%20devil. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

dust devil

noun
: a small whirlwind containing sand or dust

More from Merriam-Webster on dust devil

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