Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

climate

Syllabification: (cli·mate)
Pronunciation: /ˈklīmit/

Translate climate | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of climate

noun

  • the weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period:our cold, wet climate agricultural development is constrained by climate
  • a region with particular prevailing weather conditions:vacationing in a warm climate
  • the prevailing trend of public opinion or of another aspect of public life:the current economic climate

Origin:

late Middle English: from Old French climat or late Latin clima, climat-, from Greek klima 'slope, zone', from klinein 'to slope'. The term originally denoted a zone of the earth between two lines of latitude, then any region of the earth, and later, a region considered with reference to its atmospheric conditions. Compare with clime

climate in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of climate in the British & World English dictionary