avalanches 1 of 2

noun

plural of avalanche
1
as in landslides
a large mass especially of snow, ice, dirt, or rocks descending from a high place Much of the mountainside was covered by the avalanche.

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2
as in influxes
a sudden large amount of something that overwhelms After the disaster, the town received an avalanche of letters and donations from supporters and well-wishers.

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avalanches

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of avalanche
as in tumbles
to fall down in a large mass The snow avalanched down the mountainside.

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of avalanches
Noun
Mountaineering accidents are common in northern Pakistan, where climbers face hazards including avalanches, falling ice and rock, extreme altitude and rapidly changing weather. — ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026 Residents from the region spoke to her about dealing with avalanches, floods and landslides in their isolated home. — Brittney Melton, NPR, 30 July 2026 Earthquakes' sudden, rapid shaking can cause fires, tsunamis, landslides or avalanches. — Ca Earthquake Bot, Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026 Analysis of past avalanche accidents has indicated that larger group sizes (4 or more people) have higher chances of being caught in avalanches. — Ethan Baron, Mercury News, 4 Apr. 2026 Europe has been hit by a string of avalanches this winter. — CBS News, 21 Mar. 2026 More than 40 backcountry explorers saw avalanches on various Colorado mountain ranges between Friday and Sunday, according to field reports submitted to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. — Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 8 Mar. 2026 In the French Alps alone, avalanches have killed 28 people since the first fatal accident of the winter on December 26, according to EAWS. — Issy Ronald, CNN Money, 22 Feb. 2026 But Jimmy Chin is the exception, filming his climb, avalanches, injuries, and near-fatal setbacks that befall the voyage. — Eric Farwell, Entertainment Weekly, 21 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for avalanches
  1. landslides
  2. influxes
  3. tumbles
  4. floods
  5. overflows
  6. skids
  7. slides
  8. torrents
Noun
  • The quake, centered near San Jose Del Palmar, caused widespread devastation, trapping people, triggering landslides, and severely damaging homes and infrastructure.
    — Sarah Ferguson, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • That could prolong heavy rain and raise the risk of flooding and landslides, especially in mountainous areas and along smaller rivers.
    — Reuters, NBC news, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of landslides
Noun
  • But the study also found that huge influxes of money seldom led to a fundamental change in a winner’s mental state.
    — Nancy A. Youssef, The Atlantic, 17 June 2026
  • By July 7, the competition will have shrunk to 16 teams, which is when host cities could see influxes of last-minute foreign arrivals.
    — Suzanne Rowan Kelleher, Forbes.com, 11 June 2026
Definition of influxes
Verb
  • The glowing ribbon of the Milky Way tumbles directly through this cosmic triangle before arcing towards the southern horizon, though its diffuse light will be hidden behind a veil of moonlight on the night of the full moon.
    — Anthony Wood, Space.com, 2 July 2026
  • Then the wisdom tumbles like Milk Duds fresh from the concessionaire.
    — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026
Definition of tumbles
Noun
  • Climate change has fueled an increase in the number — and intensity — of severe weather events like wildfires, hurricanes, droughts and floods.
    — Greg Iacurci, CNBC, 6 Aug. 2026
  • Water floods Wonderland Avenue following a water main break in Laurel Canyon.
    — Julie Sharp, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of floods
Noun
  • Weeks after overflows from Atlanta’s sewer tunnels contributed to the deaths of thousands of fish on the Chattahoochee River, the city’s Department of Watershed Management says its investigating another fish kill on a different river.
    — Drew Kann, AJC.com, 1 July 2026
  • As Connecticut’s climate changes, more frequent and intense storms have lead to more overflows.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2026
Definition of overflows
Verb
  • The former is a ring on the bottom of the rock that skids across the ice, and the latter is a band around the sides of the rock that collides with other rocks (ideally knocking an opponent’s rock off the bull’s-eye or nudging your team’s closer to it).
    — Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Cargo plane skids off runway in Hong Kong An Emirates Boeing 747 cargo plane skidded off the runway after arriving at Hong Kong International Airport and landed in the sea, according to airport authority.
    — Clara McMichael, ABC News, 19 Oct. 2025
Definition of skids
Noun
  • What employees really need is permission expressed in the workflow—a norm that says show your prompts in the doc, credit the model in the brief or tag the slides the avatar drafted.
    — Nohar Zmora, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Crews, which included members of the California National Guard, had to perform avalanche mitigation work to keep the recovery teams safe from further slides.
    — Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of slides
Noun
  • Most of the deaths were in Hengzhou, where the partial collapse of a reservoir dam sent torrents of water into the city and claimed 26 lives, said Ding Wei, the vice mayor of Nanning city, which has jurisdiction over the area.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 9 July 2026
  • One significant problem, however, is that red dwarfs spit out harmful torrents of radiation in fierce gusts of their stellar winds, which can strip away a planet's atmosphere.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of torrents

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avalanched
avalanches
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Cite this Entry

“Avalanches.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/avalanches. Accessed 14 Aug. 2026.

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