nimbus
Classical Mythology. a shining cloud sometimes surrounding a deity when on earth.
a cloud, aura, atmosphere, etc., surrounding a person or thing: The candidate was encompassed with a nimbus of fame.
the type of dense clouds or cloud mass with ragged edges, that yields rain or snow; a rain cloud.
(initial capital letter)U.S. Aerospace. one of a series of polar-orbiting meteorological and environmental research satellites, the last of which Nimbus 7, launched 1978, was the first satellite designed to monitor atmospheric pollutants.
Origin of nimbus
1Other words from nimbus
- nimbused, adjective
Words Nearby nimbus
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use nimbus in a sentence
As journalists report bolder acts by the renegades, nimbus and his friends are forced to move further from childhood innocence.
But the nimbus was not worn at all at this early period; such a criterion is therefore inadmissible.
The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry WithrowIn one example Mary wears a nimbus, a proof of comparatively late date.
The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry WithrowIn later art the hand is sometimes surrounded by a cruciform nimbus, to indicate more clearly its divine character.
The Catacombs of Rome | William Henry WithrowThis is a Saint, as he has the nimbus round his head, and from his young and beardless face it is probably St. John.
Notes and Queries for Worcestershire | John Noake
Overcast skies of heavy nimbus cloud were the rule and the air was continually charged with drifting snow.
The Home of the Blizzard | Douglas Mawson
British Dictionary definitions for nimbus
/ (ˈnɪmbəs) /
a dark grey rain-bearing cloud
(in combination): cumulonimbus clouds
an emanation of light surrounding a saint or deity
a representation of this emanation
a surrounding aura or atmosphere
Origin of nimbus
1Derived forms of nimbus
- nimbused, adjective
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 nimbus
[ nĭm′bəs ]
A rain cloud.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Browse