Meaning & use
cloudbank
Last updated
UK/ˈklaʊdbæŋk/
US/ˈklaʊdbæŋk/
Meaning
nouncountable
A thick, long mass of cloud that looks like a wall or a hill on the horizon.
Grammar: Often followed by a place word: a cloudbank over the sea.
Patterns
- a cloudbank on the horizon
A dark cloudbank rolled in from the west.
The plane climbed through a thick cloudbank.
The sunset lit up the cloudbank in orange and pink.
Word forms
| plural | cloudbanks |
|---|
Common combinations
- thick cloudbank
- A thick cloudbank hid the mountains.
- low cloudbank
- A low cloudbank sat over the bay.
- cloudbank on the horizon
- They spotted a cloudbank on the horizon.
- dark cloudbank
- A dark cloudbank warned of rain.
- roll in
- A cloudbank rolled in just before dusk.
Synonyms and how they differ
- overcast
- Overcast describes a whole sky covered in cloud, whereas a cloudbank is one mass.
- fog bank
- A fog bank touches the ground, while a cloudbank hangs higher in the sky.
- cloud cover
- Cloud cover describes how much sky is covered, not one visible mass.
Word family
Commonly confused: cloudbank or cloudburst?
cloudbank vs cloudburst
A cloudburst is a sudden heavy rain, not a mass of cloud.
Practice
From the deck, the sailors saw a thick ___ rising on the horizon, hinting at a coming storm.
Choose one answer.
A cloudbank is a mass of cloud on the horizon. A cloudburst is rain, not something seen sitting there.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cloudbank”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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