La Niña

noun

La Ni·ña lä-ˈnē-nyə -nyä

plural La Niñas

: an irregularly recurring upwelling of unusually cold water to the ocean surface along the western coast of South America that often occurs following an El Niño and that disrupts typical regional and global weather patterns especially in a manner opposite to that of El Niño

Examples of La Niña in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

And those areas are then more likely to have more fuel to burn once things start to dry out whenever La Nina arrives. — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 10 Aug. 2026 Typical El Nino impacts across the United States Impacts from El Nino, similar to La Nina, tend to be most consistent and pronounced from late autumn through early spring following the event’s onset, NOAA says. — Daniel Peck, ABC News, 11 June 2026 The atmospheric reactions to El Nino and La Nina have changed and the Sierra snowpack is running at historically low levels. — Greg Porter, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2026 The system was rooted in a Mexican mythology known as La Nina de las Flores (The Flower Girl), where Luz kills her victims in a ritual order. — Demetrius Patterson, HollywoodReporter, 18 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for La Niña

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, the (female) child

First Known Use

1981, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of La Niña was in 1981

See more words from the same year

Browse Nearby Words

Laniidae

La Niña

laning

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“La Niña.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/La%20Ni%C3%B1a. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

La Niña

noun

La Ni·ña lä-ˈnē-nyə -nyä

: an irregularly occurring movement of deep cold water to the ocean surface along the western coast of South America that often occurs after an El Niño and that disrupts weather patterns especially in a manner opposite that of an El Niño

La Niña

noun

Examples of La Niña in a Sentence

Word History

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

zeugma

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Words of the Week - Aug. 14

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes