weathering a storm

Meanings

1. 1phraseidiomfigurative

   Surviving a period of serious trouble or difficulty without being destroyed by it.

   Grammar: Formed from weather + a storm; the object is usually a storm, a crisis, or hard times.

   Patterns

   • weather a storm
   • weather the storm
   • weather a crisis

   The small bakery is weathering a storm after losing its biggest customer.

   Their marriage is weathering a storm, but they are still together.

   The team weathered the storm of criticism and won the final.

2. 2phraseidiom

   Coming through bad weather safely, said of a ship, building, or place.

   Grammar: The literal use is about real wind and rain; it is common in news reports about storms.

   Patterns

   • weather a storm
   • weathering the storm at sea

   The old lighthouse has been weathering storms for over a century.

   The fishing boats stayed in port rather than weathering the storm.

Common combinations

weather the storm

The company hopes to weather the storm and recover next year.

weather a crisis

The government is trying to weather a crisis in public trust.

help someone weather a storm

Her friends helped her weather a storm of bad publicity.

weather tough times

Small shops learned to weather tough times.

Synonyms and how they differ

ride out

Very close in meaning and often used with 'the storm'; slightly more informal.

survive

More general and neutral; it does not carry the image of a storm passing over.

endure

More formal and suggests lasting through something painful for a long time.

Opposites

Word family

weather verb

To come through a difficult period or bad weather safely.

storm noun

Very bad weather with strong wind, rain, or snow.

stormy adjective

Full of strong wind and rain, or full of strong disagreement.

Commonly confused: weathering a storm or whether?

Practice

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Write a sentence using “weathering a storm”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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