CUMULUS (cumuli)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected form: cumuli   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does cumulus mean? 

• CUMULUS (noun)
  The noun CUMULUS has 2 senses:

1. a globular cloud

2. a collection of objects laid on top of each other

  Familiarity information: CUMULUS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CUMULUS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A globular cloud

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Synonyms:

cumulus; cumulus cloud

Hypernyms ("cumulus" is a kind of...):

cloud (a visible mass of water or ice particles suspended at a considerable altitude)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cumulus"):

altocumulus; altocumulus cloud (a cumulus cloud at an intermediate altitude of 2 or 3 miles)

thunderhead (a rounded projecting mass of a cumulus cloud with shining edges; often appears before a thunderstorm)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A collection of objects laid on top of each other

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Synonyms:

agglomerate; cumulation; cumulus; heap; mound; pile

Hypernyms ("cumulus" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "cumulus"):

compost heap; compost pile (a heap of manure and vegetation and other organic residues that are decaying to become compost)

dunghill; midden; muckheap; muckhill (a heap of dung or refuse)

scrapheap (pile of discarded metal)

shock (a pile of sheaves of grain set on end in a field to dry; stalks of Indian corn set up in a field)

slagheap (pile of waste matter from coal mining etc)

stack (an orderly pile)

funeral pyre; pyre (wood heaped for burning a dead body as a funeral rite)

woodpile (a pile or stack of wood to be used for fuel)

stockpile (a storage pile accumulated for future use)

Derivation:

cumulate (collect or gather)

cumulous (thrown together in a pile)