monsoon

American  

[mon-soon] / mɒnˈsun /

noun

1. the seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia, blowing from the southwest in summer and from the northeast in winter.

2. (in India and nearby lands) the season during which the southwest monsoon blows, commonly marked by heavy rains; rainy season.

3. any wind that changes directions with the seasons.

4. any persistent wind established between water and adjoining land.

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monsoon British  

/ mɒnˈsuːn /

noun

1. a seasonal wind of S Asia that blows from the southwest in summer, bringing heavy rains, and from the northeast in winter

2. the rainy season when the SW monsoon blows, from about April to October

3. any wind that changes direction with the seasons

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monsoon Scientific  

/ mŏn-so̅o̅n′ /

1. A system of winds that influences the climate of a large area and that reverses direction with the seasons. Monsoons are caused primarily by the much greater annual variation in temperature over large areas of land than over large areas of adjacent ocean water. This variation causes an excess of atmospheric pressure over the continents in the winter, and a deficit in the summer. The disparity causes strong winds to blow between the ocean and the land, bringing heavy seasonal rainfall.

2. In southern Asia, a wind that is part of such a system and that blows from the southwest in the summer and usually brings heavy rains.

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monsoon Cultural  

1. A wind system that affects large climatic regions and reverses direction seasonally.

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Discover More

The Asiatic monsoon brings heavy rains to Southeast Asia in spring and summer.

Other Word Forms

• monsoonal adjective

Etymology

Origin of monsoon

First recorded in 1575–85; from obsolete Dutch monssoen, from Portuguese monção, earlier moução, from Arabic mawsim “season,” noun derivative of wasama “to mark”; cf. mazuma ( def. ), Sivan ( def. )

Explanation

Monsoon is the term for the wind that carries heavy rains to southern Asia, and the rains themselves. During a monsoon, people wait indoors for it to stop. Although people in other parts of the world sometimes describe heavy rainfall as a monsoon, the real thing only occurs in Asia. Monsoon describes both the rain that drenches India and Southeast Asia in summer and winter, and the wind that carries that rain. The rains are so heavy that they can lead to floods that wash away entire towns.

Example Sentences

Even in the Calcutta Cup monsoon in Edinburgh in 2020 Scotland managed three.

From BBC • Feb. 11, 2026

We set off during the blissfully uncrowded and surprisingly appealing monsoon season in August.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026

Dr. Pepin pointed to events in Pakistan this summer, when intense monsoon storms combined with extreme mountain rainfall.

From Science Daily • Jan. 21, 2026

If we had wind chimes, it would’ve been a Lollapalooza monsoon of surly zephyrs all the livelong night.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025

The sky is black and echoes with the thunder of monsoon storms.

From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung

Related Words

• deluge
• drizzle
• flood
• hail
• mist
• precipitation
• rainfall
• rainstorm
• shower
• showers
• sleet
• stream
• torrent