Standard Lemma guide

derecho

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /dəˈɹeɪ.t͡ʃoʊ/
  • US: /dəˈɹɛ.t͡ʃoʊ/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • UK: /dəˈɹeɪ.t͡ʃəʊ/
  • UK: /dəˈɹɛ.t͡ʃəʊ/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A windstorm characterized by strong, straight-line winds.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US

Topics: climatology, meteorology, natural-sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Spanish derecho (“straight”). First used by Gustavus Detlef Hinrichs in 1888, apparently coined to distinguish the winds from tornadoes, which rotate; compare tornado. Doublet of direct.

Across languages

Translations

3 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Esperanto: dereĉo — windstorm with strong straight-line winds
  • Finnish: syöksyvirtausparvi — windstorm with strong straight-line winds
  • Persian: دِرِچو (derečo) — windstorm with strong straight-line winds