El Niño

noun

El Ni·​ño el-ˈnē-nyō 

plural El Niños

: an irregularly recurring flow of unusually warm surface waters from the Pacific Ocean toward and along the western coast of South America that prevents upwelling of nutrient-rich cold deep water and that disrupts typical regional and global weather patterns compare la niña

Did you know?

Each year around Christmas time, a warm equatorial current flows southward along the coast of Peru. In the 19th century, Peruvian fisherman named that annual current "El Niño" in honor of the Christ child (el niño means "the child" in Spanish). Later, when scientists noted that in some years this warm current flow is more intense than usual, they adopted the name and applied it to that more potent but erratic climatic phenomenon. Now El Niño is used almost exclusively for the severe episodes rather than for the annual ones to which it was originally applied.

Examples of El Niño in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Recently, the sector has been affected by El Nino, which brings weak monsoons and dry weather, reducing yields and sucrose recovery. — Priyanka Salve, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026

Eco effort While over 80% of the reefs around the resort were bleached following the dramatic temperature rises of El Nino in 2016, the resort is throwing everything at its coral nursery and the green shoots are showing. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026

While much of what’s to come remains uncertain, El Nino conditions are fueling a planetary wave that is impacting the West Coast of the United States. — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026

And in a region already suffering from aid shortages, and anticipating even greater food insecurity from this year’s El Nino, humanitarians are rightly nervous about a potential catastrophic fallout. — Cameron Hudson, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, literally, the child (i.e., the Christ child); from the appearance of the flow at the Christmas season

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

El Niño

noun

El Ni·​ño el-ˈnē-nyō 

plural El Niños

: an irregularly occurring flow of unusually warm surface water along the western coast of South America that disrupts the normal regional and global weather patterns compare la niña

Etymology

Spanish, "the child" (referring to the Christ child); from the appearance of the flow at the Christmas season