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# tornado

«tornado» in Mova's school dictionary: **a very strong, spinning column of wind that reaches from…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a tornado, tornadoes or tornados)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A tornado is a very strong, spinning column of wind that reaches from a storm cloud down to the ground, shaped like a funnel. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tornado/#m1)

2) Figuratively, a person who moves fast and makes a mess is like a tornado. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tornado/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In science and geography, tornadoes form in big thunderstorms, especially in the central USA («Tornado Alley»); their winds can destroy houses. In safety lessons: in a tornado warning, go to a basement or a small inside room on the lowest floor, away from windows. Phrases: tornado warning, tornado watch, Tornado Alley.

### examples

- A tornado looks like a spinning funnel. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tornado/#x1)
- The tornado destroyed three barns. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tornado/#x2)
- When the siren sounds, go to the basement. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tornado/#x3)
- Tornadoes happen most often in the USA. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tornado/#x4)
- In The Wizard of Oz, a tornado carries Dorothy's house away. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tornado/#x5)
- Stay away from windows during a tornado. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tornado/#x6)
- My little brother ran through the room like a tornado. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tornado/#x7)
- Scientists chase tornadoes to study them. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tornado/#x8)

### note

Plural: tornadoes (more common) or tornados. A tornado is not a hurricane: a hurricane is a huge storm over the ocean hundreds of kilometres wide; a tornado is narrow and forms over land. Also called a twister. A watch means one could happen; a warning means one is happening or about to.

### In the corpora

- [A tornado warning means a tornado has been seen or found by radar, so you take shelter at once.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/48-weather-emergencies/7/)
- [The safest place in a tornado is a basement or storm shelter, or an inside room on the lowest floor with no windows.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/48-weather-emergencies/8/)
- [A mobile home or a car is not safe in a tornado; you go to a strong building or storm shelter nearby.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/48-weather-emergencies/9/)
- [During a hurricane, tornado or bushfire warning, the family follows its emergency plan and listens to official alerts.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/120-home-myths-first-aid-and-warnings/12/)
- [In a tornado people shelter in a cellar or a small room in the middle of the house, away from windows.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/physics/15-wind-and-weather/15/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «tornado» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tornado/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.