noun · 2 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
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Received-Pronunciation, US:sĭmo͞omʹ
Received-Pronunciation, US:/sɪˈmuːm/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -uːm
1
noun
Meaning 1
A hot, dry, suffocating, dust-laden wind of the desert, particularly of Arabia, Syria, and neighboring countries, generated by the extreme heat of the parched deserts or sandy plains.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
a violent hot sand-laden wind on the deserts of Arabia and North Africa
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: simoon, samiel
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: wind, air current, current of air
History
Etymology
From Arabic سَمُوم (samūm, “hot wind”), from سَمَّ (samma, “to poison”).
Across languages
Translations
32 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Arabic:
سَمُوم
(samūm)
— hot, dry wind
Armenian:
սամում
(samum)
— hot, dry wind
Azerbaijani:
səmum
— hot, dry wind
Belarusian:
саму́м
(samúm)
— hot, dry wind
Bulgarian:
саму́м
(samúm)
— hot, dry wind
Chinese Mandarin:
西蒙風 /西蒙风
(xīméngfēng)
— hot, dry wind