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# tsunami

«tsunami» in Mova's school dictionary: **a huge sea wave, or series of waves, caused by an…** — 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 tsunami, tsunamis)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A tsunami is a huge sea wave, or series of waves, caused by an earthquake, volcano or landslide under the sea. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tsunami/#m1)

2) A tsunami can also mean a huge amount of something arriving at once, like a tsunami of emails. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tsunami/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In geography and safety lessons tsunamis show the power of earthquakes; warning signs are a strong earthquake near the coast or the sea pulling far back from the shore — go to high ground at once. Phrases: «tsunami warning», «a tsunami hit», «tsunami evacuation route».

### examples

- A tsunami can travel across the whole ocean. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tsunami/#x1)
- The earthquake caused a tsunami. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tsunami/#x2)
- If the sea suddenly goes far out, go to high ground at once. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tsunami/#x3)
- The town has signs showing the tsunami evacuation route. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tsunami/#x4)
- The tsunami flooded the coast. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tsunami/#x5)
- Scientists can send out tsunami warnings. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tsunami/#x6)
- A tsunami is not caused by wind. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tsunami/#x7)

### note

Countable. Japanese word meaning «harbour wave»; the t is often silent in English: soo-NAH-mee. Trap: a tsunami is not a «tidal wave» — tides do not cause it. A tsunami may be a series of waves, so do not go back to the beach after the first one.

### In the corpora

- [Mangrove roots break waves and hold the soil, and after the 2004 tsunami, places with mangroves often had less damage.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/178-mangroves-trees-in-salt-water-mudskippers-archerfish-and-swimming-tigers/12/)
- [Near the coast, a long or strong earthquake can be followed by a tsunami within minutes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/236-wind-fog-fire-and-seasons/6/)
- [An earthquake under the sea can push up a huge wave called a tsunami, which may reach the coast within minutes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/301-tsunamis-lambs-plants-ants-and-stings/1/)
- [If the sea suddenly pulls far back from the beach, a tsunami may be coming: go to high ground at once.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/301-tsunamis-lambs-plants-ants-and-stings/10/)
- [In 1755 an earthquake, a tsunami and fires destroyed much of Lisbon, killing tens of thousands of people.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/geography/44-earthquakes/10/)

### Trees and pragmatics

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