tornado Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a localized and violently destructive windstorm occurring over land characterized by a funnel-shaped cloud extending toward the ground
    twister.
  2. noun a purified and potent form of cocaine that is smoked rather than snorted; highly addictive
    crack cocaine; crack.

WordNet

Tor*na"do noun
Etymology
From Sp. or Pg. tornar to turn, return, L. tornare to turn, hence, a whirling wind. The Sp. & Pg. tornada is a return. See Turn.
Wordforms
plural Tornadoes
Definitions
  1. A violent whirling wind; specifically (Meteorol.), a tempest distinguished by a rapid whirling and slow progressive motion, usually accompaned with severe thunder, lightning, and torrents of rain, and commonly of short duration and small breadth; a small cyclone twister .

Webster 1913