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trade wind

American  
[wind] / wɪnd /

noun

  1. Also called trades.  Also trade winds any of the nearly constant easterly winds that dominate most of the tropics and subtropics throughout the world, blowing mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere, and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere.

  2. any wind that blows in one regular course, or continually in the same direction.


trade wind British  
/ wɪnd /

noun

  1. a wind blowing obliquely towards the equator either from the northeast in the N hemisphere or the southeast in the S hemisphere, approximately between latitudes 30° N and S, forming part of the planetary wind system

"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

Etymology

Origin of trade wind

First recorded in 1625–35

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University have identified a previously unknown system inside cells that acts like internal "trade winds," rapidly carrying important proteins to the front edge of the cell.

From Science Daily

El Nino can weaken consistent trade winds that blow east to west across the tropical Pacific, influencing weather by affecting the movement of warm water across this vast ocean.

From Barron's

As the trade winds pushed her farther west she gathered humidity and power.

From Literature

The science here is most compelling when Selby spins thermal columns, updrafts, trade winds and cloud formations into a history of California’s cities and often manmade geography.

From Los Angeles Times

Officials attributed the stormy Atlantic outlook to a confluence of factors including record-warm ocean temperatures; reduced Atlantic trade winds and wind shear; and the development of La Niña.

From Los Angeles Times