- the long-term prevalent weather conditions of an area, determined by latitude, position relative to oceans or continents, altitude, etc
- an area having a particular kind of climate
- a prevailing trend or current of feeling: the political climate
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
cli•mate /ˈklaɪmɪt/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Meteorologythe general weather conditions of a region, averaged over a series of years:The climate in that country was cloudy, cool, or cold.
- Meteorologya region or area that has a given climate: Dad retired to live in a warm climate.
- the general attitudes or conditions of a group, period, or place: a climate of political unrest.
cli•mate
(klī′mit),USA pronunciation n.
- Meteorologythe composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.
- Meteorologya region or area characterized by a given climate:to move to a warm climate.
- the prevailing attitudes, standards, or environmental conditions of a group, period, or place:a climate of political unrest.
- Greek klīmat-, stem of klí̄ma slope, equivalent. to klī- (akin to klí̄nein to slope, lean) + -ma noun, nominal suffix
- Latin clīmat- (stem of clīma)
- 1350–1400 for earlier senses; 1595–1605 for def. 2; Middle English climat
- 3. mood, atmosphere, spirit, tone, temper.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
climate /ˈklaɪmɪt/ n
Climatic is sometimes wrongly used where climactic is meant. Climatic is properly used to talk about things relating to climate; climactic is used to describe something which forms a climax
'climate change' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):