Definition of "tornado" []

• A rotating column of air ranging in width from a few yards to more than a mile and whirling at destructively high speeds, usually accompanied by a funnel-shaped downward extension of a cumulonimbus cloud. (noun)
• A violent thunderstorm in western Africa or nearby Atlantic waters. (noun)
• A whirlwind or hurricane. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "By contrast, before 1950 the use of the term tornado in forecasts was discouraged because of a fear that predicting them would cause panic."
• "The agency that had been reluctant for decades even to mention the word tornado out of concern for public panic was now trying to create as much fear as possible—so that people would take some steps to protect themselves."
• "No field forecasters dared use the word tornado for fear of inciting not just panic but their supervisors."