storm 1 W3 / stɔm $ stɔrm / 名词
1 [可数名词] a period of very bad weather when there is a lot of rain or snow, strong winds, and often lightning :
The weather forecast is for severe storms tonight.
Twenty people were killed when the storm struck the Midwest.
2 [可数名词，通常单数] a situation in which people suddenly express very strong feelings about something that someone has said or done :
The governor found himself at the center of a political storm .
storm of protest/criticism etc
Government plans for hospital closures provoked a storm of protest.
3 take somewhere by storm
a) to be very successful in a particular place :
The new show took London by storm.
b) to attack a place using large numbers of soldiers, and succeed in getting possession of it
4 weather the storm to experience a difficult period and reach the end of it without being harmed or damaged too much :
I’ll stay and weather the storm.
5 a storm in a teacup British English an unnecessary expression of strong feelings about something that is very unimportant
6 dance/sing/cook etc up a storm to do something with all your energy :
They were dancing up a storm.
COLLOCATIONS
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + storm
a big storm The tree had come down on the day of the big storm.
a bad/terrible storm This was the worst storm for 50 years.
a severe/violent/fierce storm He set out in a violent storm for Fort William.
a great storm literary: the great storm of 1997
a tropical storm The tropical storm smashed through the Bahamas.
a rain/snow storm They got caught in a terrible snow storm.
a dust storm (= one in which a lot of dust is blown around ) Dust storms are relatively common in the Sahara.
an electrical storm (= one with lightning ) Power supplies have been affected by severe electrical storms in some parts of the country.
a winter/summer storm People fear there may be more flooding when the winter storms hit.
a freak storm (= an unexpected and unusually violent one ) The freak storm caused chaos.
an approaching storm (= one that is coming closer ) The horizon was dark with an approaching storm.
动词
a storm blows up (= starts ) That night, a storm blew up.
a storm breaks (= suddenly starts, after clouds have been increasing ) The storm broke at five o’clock.
a storm is brewing (= is likely to start soon ) He could feel that a storm was brewing.
a storm rages (= is active and violent ) By the time we reached the airfield, a tropical storm was raging.
a storm hits/strikes (a place) We should try to get home before the storm hits.
a storm lashes/batters a place literary Fierce storms lashed the coastline.
a storm abates/passes We sat and waited for the storm to pass.
a storm blows itself out (= ends ) The storm finally blew itself out.
ride out a storm (= survive it without being damaged ) The Greek fleet had ridden out the storm near Euboia.
storm + NOUN
storm clouds We could see storm clouds in the distance.
storm damage A lot of buildings suffered storm damage.
COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say ’ a strong storm ’ or ’ a hard storm ‘. Say a big storm , a bad storm , or a violent storm .
COLLOCATIONS
形容词
a political storm The company became the centre of a political storm.
动词
cause/create a storm The Prime Minister caused a storm by criticizing military commanders.
provoke/spark/raise a storm (= make it start ) This decision provoked a storm of protest from civil rights organizations.
a storm blows up (= starts ) In 1895 a diplomatic storm blew up between Britain and America over Venezuela.
a storm blows over (= ends ) The President is just hoping that the storm will blow over quickly.
ride out the storm (= survive the situation ) Do you think the government will be able to ride out the storm?
短语
a storm of protest The killing caused a storm of protest.
a storm of controversy His book raised a storm of controversy.
a storm of criticism A storm of criticism forced the government to withdraw the proposal.
be at the centre of a storm British English , be at the center of a storm American English (= be the person or thing that is causing strong protest, criticism etc ) He has been at the centre of a storm surrounding donations to the party.
THESAURUS
storm a period of very bad weather when there is a lot of rain or snow, strong winds, and often lightning : The ship sank in a violent storm. | They got caught in a storm on top of the mountain. | The storm hit the coast of Florida on Tuesday. | The cost of repairing storm damage will run into millions of pounds.
thunderstorm a storm in which there is a lot of thunder (= loud noise in the sky ) and lightning (= flashes of light in the sky ) : When I was young i was terrified of thunderstorms.
hurricane a storm that has very strong fast winds and that moves over water – used about storms in the North Atlantic Ocean : Hurricane Katrina battered the US Gulf Coast. | the hurricane season
typhoon a very violent tropical storm – used about storms in the Western Pacific Ocean : A powerful typhoon hit southern China today. | Weather experts are monitoring typhoons in Hong Kong and China.
cyclone a severe storm affecting a large area, in which the wind moves around in a big circle : Thousands of people died when a tropical cyclone hit Bangladesh. | Cyclone ‘Joy’ inflicted damage estimated at $40 million, with winds of up to 145 miles per hour.
tornado ( also twister American English informal ) an extremely violent storm that consists of air that spins very quickly and causes a lot of damage : The tornado ripped the roof off his house. | For the second time in a week deadly tornadoes have torn through Tennessee.
snowstorm a storm with strong winds and a lot of snow : A major snowstorm blew across Colorado.
blizzard a severe snowstorm in which the snow is blown around by strong winds, making it difficult to see anything : We got stuck in a blizzard. | Denver is bracing itself for blizzard conditions .