whirlwind Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a more or less vertical column of air whirling around itself as it moves over the surface of the Earth

WordNet

Whirl"wind` noun
Etymology
Cf. Icel. hvirfilvindr, Sw. hvirfvelvind, Dan. hvirvelvind, G. wirbelwind. See Whirl, and Wind, n.
Definitions
  1. A violent windstorm of limited extent, as the tornado, characterized by an inward spiral motion of the air with an upward current in the center; a vortex of air. It usually has a rapid progressive motion.
    The swift dark whirlwind that uproots the woods. And drowns the villages. Bryant.
    ✍ Some meteorologists apply the word whirlwind to the larger rotary storm also, such as cyclones.
  2. Fig.: A body of objects sweeping violently onward. "The whirlwind of hounds and hunters." Macaulay.

Webster 1913