whumpf
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The collapsing of a weak part of the snowpack, accompanied by a whumpf noise and potentially leading to an avalanche.
Example Sentences
- "Avoid convex surfaces, especially on lee ridges; this is where slab avalanches most frequently start. If you observe settling or whumpfing of snow as you travel on it, or if the surface cracks and the cracks spread, […]"
- "Even by the end of the month observers in the Northern and Central Mountains were still reporting collapsing and "whumpfing" snow; conditions that typically disappear in February."
Etymology
From whump + -f.