El Niño
noun
Did you know?
Each year around Christmas time, a warm equatorial current flows southward along the coast of Peru. In the 19th century, Peruvian fisherman named that annual current "El Niño" in honor of the Christ child (el niño means "the child" in Spanish). Later, when scientists noted that in some years this warm current flow is more intense than usual, they adopted the name and applied it to that more potent but erratic climatic phenomenon. Now El Niño is used almost exclusively for the severe episodes rather than for the annual ones to which it was originally applied.
Examples of El Niño in a Sentence
ABC News, 20 May 2026
Meanwhile, El Nino's influence in the Atlantic basin nudges conditions in the opposite direction, with relatively cooler waters and more vertical wind shear, which does not make for the most ideal environment for tropical system development.
—Nikki Nolan, CBS News, 15 May 2026
Roys said that while El Nino’s are rare, Super El Nino’s are even rarer.
—Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 11 May 2026
An El Nino pattern is forecast to push drought conditions in Canada to their extremes this summer, setting the stage for more active wildfires.
—Caden Perry, jsonline.com, 8 May 2026
Dana Taylor: John, there's also been talk of a coming El Nino later this year.
—Dana Taylor, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2026
The effects of El Nino are felt differently around the world, says Roundy.
—Simmone Shah, Time, 10 Apr. 2026
And the next year or so looks to turn the dial up on global warmth even more, as some forecasts predict a brewing El Nino will reach superstrength.
—Seth Borenstein, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2026
The atmospheric reactions to El Nino and La Nina have changed and the Sierra snowpack is running at historically low levels.
—Greg Porter, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“El Niño.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/El%20Ni%C3%B1o. Accessed 25 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
El Niño
noun
Spanish, "the child" (referring to the Christ child); from the appearance of the flow at the Christmas season
