El Niño

[ el neen-yoh; Spanish el nee-nyaw ]

noun
  1. a warm ocean current of variable intensity that develops after late December along the coast of Ecuador and Peru and sometimes causes catastrophic weather conditions.

Origin of El Niño

1
<Spanish: literally, the child, i.e., the Christ child, alluding to the appearance of the current near Christmas

Words Nearby El Niño

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use El Niño in a sentence

  • If they were in no danger while in the streets, they would be when parting from them—at El Nino Perdido.

    The Free Lances | Mayne Reid
  • He found the escapados had gone out by El Nino Perdido, the sergeant on guard there allowing them to go past.

    The Free Lances | Mayne Reid
  • It seemed strange not only to him, but all others on guard at El Nino.

    The Free Lances | Mayne Reid
  • Almost on the instant that Lantejas presented himself in the courtyard, the cannon, El Nino, thundered forth another discharge.

    The Tiger Hunter | Mayne Reid

British Dictionary definitions for El Niño

El Niño

/ (ɛl ˈniːnjəʊ) /


noun
  1. meteorol a warming of the eastern tropical Pacific occurring every few years, which alters the weather pattern of the tropics

Origin of El Niño

1
C20: from Spanish: The Child, i.e. Christ, referring to its original occurrence at Christmas time

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for El Niño

El Niño

[ ĕl nēn ]


  1. A warming of the surface water of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, occurring every 4 to 12 years and causing unusual global weather patterns. An El Niño is said to occur when the trade winds that usually push warm surface water westward weaken, allowing the warm water to pool as far eastward as the western coast of South America. When this happens, the typical pattern of coastal upwelling that carries nutrients from the cold depths to the ocean surface is disrupted, and fish and plankton die off in large numbers. El Niño warming is associated with the atmospheric phenomenon known as the southern oscillation, and their combined effect brings heavy rain to western South American and drought to eastern Australia and Indonesia. El Niño also affects the weather in the United States, but not as predictably. Compare La Niña.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for El Niño

El Niño

[ (neen-yoh) ]


A warming of the surface water of the eastern and central Pacific Ocean, occurring every four to twelve years when cold water does not rise to the surface, causing unusual weather patterns. The warmer water kills fish and plankton, brings heavy rains to western South America, and causes drought in eastern Australia and Indonesia.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.