Meaning & use
climate
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
The usual pattern of temperature, rainfall and wind in a region over many years.
Grammar: Often countable with a type: a dry climate; uncountable in general terms: climate science.
Patterns
- a hot climate
- the climate of somewhere
Portugal has a mild climate with warm summers.
Cactus plants grow well in a dry climate.
Scientists study how the climate of the region has changed.
nounusually singularfigurative
The general mood or conditions affecting a place, group or situation at a particular time.
Grammar: Used with an adjective: the economic climate, the political climate.
Patterns
- the climate of something
- in the current climate
Investors are cautious in the current economic climate.
The manager worked to create a positive climate in the office.
A climate of fear spread through the town.
Word forms
| plural | climates |
|---|
Common combinations
- climate change
- Climate change is raising sea levels.
- economic climate
- The economic climate makes hiring difficult.
- political climate
- The political climate was tense before the vote.
- mild climate
- The island enjoys a mild climate all year.
- climate of fear
- A climate of fear stopped employees from speaking up.
Synonyms and how they differ
- weather
- Weather is what happens day to day, while climate is the average pattern over many years.
- atmosphere
- Atmosphere describes the feeling in a room or place, which is close to the figurative sense, but it is not used for long-term patterns.
- mood
- Mood is a feeling shared by people at a moment, which is shorter-lived than climate.
- environment
- Environment is the broader surroundings, while climate stresses conditions that shape what happens.
Word family
- climatic adjective
- relating to the climate
- climatology noun
- the scientific study of climates
- climatologist noun
- a scientist who studies climate
- acclimatize verb
- to become used to a new climate or conditions
- microclimate noun
- the climate of a very small area
Commonly confused: climate or weather?
climate vs weather
Weather changes hour by hour, while climate is the long-term average. You can say the weather is awful today but not the climate is awful today.
Practice
Rainy days in April do not prove anything about the region's ____, which is based on decades of records.
Choose one answer.
Climate is the long-term pattern. Weather would describe the short-term conditions that the sentence says are not enough.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “climate”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.