1. Strictly, the name given to a tropical cyclone that develops over the N. Atlantic and Caribbean. Hurricanes move westward, then swing north, on tracks that often carry them across inhabited islands and coastal areas of Mexico and the USA.

2. A widely used alternative name for a tropical cyclone, regardless of where it develops.

3. A wind blowing at more than 120 km/h (75 mph), which is Force 12 on the Beaufort scale.