avalanche

noun

• 1a mass of snow, ice, and rocks falling rapidly down a mountainside: he was swept to his death by an avalanche in 1988
• a large mass of mud or other material moving rapidly downhill:an avalanche of mud

• 2a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities:we have had an avalanche of applications for the post

• 3 Physics a cumulative process in which a fast-moving ion or electron generates further ions and electrons by collision.

verb

• 1(of a mass of snow, ice, etc.) descend rapidly down a mountainside.
• [with object] engulf or carry off by an avalanche:the climbers were avalanched down the south face of the mountain

• 2 Physics undergo a rapid increase in conductivity due to an avalanche process.