weather

weather

I

weath‧er¹ S1 W2 /ˈweðə $ -ər/ noun1. [singular, uncountable] the temperature and other conditions such as sun, rain, and wind:
    What’s the weather like today?
    The weather turned bitterly cold.
  GRAMMAR
    Weather is usually used with 'the' or with no determiner. Do not say 'a weather':
   ▪ We had good weather (NOT a good weather).
2. the weather informal a description on radio or television, in newspapers etc of what the weather will be like in the near future
   SYN  the weather forecast:
    I always watch the weather after the news.
3. in all weathers in all types of weather, even when it is very hot or cold:
    There are homeless people sleeping on the streets in all weathers.
4. under the weather informal slightly ill:
    You look a bit under the weather.
5. keep a weather eye on something to watch a situation carefully so that you notice anything unusual or unpleasant:
    Keep a weather eye on your finances.
⇨ make heavy weather of something at heavy¹(10)
     

COLLOCATIONS

■ adjectives
   ▪ good/nice/lovely (=not wet) We’ll go out if the weather is good.
   ▪ glorious/beautiful/perfect It was glorious weather, so we decided to go for a picnic.
   ▪ bad (=wet or stormy) Several flights were cancelled owing to bad weather.
   ▪ awful/dreadful/terrible weather We came home early because of the awful weather.
   ▪ hot Drink lots of water in hot weather.
   ▪ cold The weather was cold and grey.
   ▪ fine/sunny/fair/dry If the weather is fine, we’ll eat outside. | Water pot plants daily during spells of dry weather.
   ▪ wet/rainy I’m so sick of this wet weather.
   ▪ windy/stormy In windy weather, water from the fountain is blown onto the paths.
■ verbs
   ▪ have good/bad etc weather We have had lovely weather all week.
   ▪ the weather turns (=changes) The weather had turned mild.
   ▪ the weather holds (out) (=good weather continues in the same way) The forecast said the weather should hold until Tuesday.
   ▪ the weather breaks (=stops being good) We got almost all the harvest in before the weather broke.
■ weather + NOUN
   ▪ the weather forecast (=a description of what the weather is expected to be like in the near future) What’s the weather forecast like for the weekend?
   ▪ the weather map (=a map showing the current or expected future weather) The weather map shows a band of rain coming in from the east.
   ▪ weather conditions (=whether it is raining or sunny) The rescue was difficult because of the appalling weather conditions.
   ▪ weather patterns (=the usual weather that comes at a particular time each year) Changes in weather patterns are thought to be caused by global warming
   ▪ a weather station (=a place used for studying and recording weather conditions)
   ▪ a weather centre British English, a weather bureau American English (=a place where information about the weather is collected and where reports are produced) The London Weather Centre has issued a warning that there could be extremely heavy rain and high winds over the next 24 hours.
■ phrases
   ▪ weather permitting (=if the weather is good enough) Breakfast is served on the terrace, weather permitting.
     

THESAURUS

   ▪ weather use this to talk about whether it is hot or cold outside or whether it is raining, snowing, windy etc: What was the weather like on your vacation? | a period of warm sunny weather
   ▪ climate the usual weather conditions in a particular country or area: Queensland has a warm tropical climate. | the climate of southern Florida
   ▪ the outlook what the weather will probably be like for the next few days: The outlook for the weekend is for continued sunny weather.
   ▪ conditions the weather at a particular time, especially when considering how this will affect a planned event or activity: Conditions are perfect for today’s boat race. | Freezing conditions are making the roads extremely hazardous.
   ▪ the elements formal weather, especially bad weather: The equipment had been left exposed to the elements.

II

weather² verb
1. [transitive] to come through a very difficult situation safely:
    The company weathered the storm of objections to the scheme.
    Northern Ireland weathered the recession better than any other region in the UK.
2. [intransitive and transitive] if rock, wood, or someone’s face is weathered by the wind, sun, rain etc, or if it weathers, it changes colour or shape over a period of time:
    The brick has weathered to a lovely pinky-brown.
    Her face was weathered by the sun.