Wind and its synonyms are terms for natural movement of air. Wind-storm is a general term for movements of air that are so strong as to be a source of concern.

Breeze is a general term for a light wind; it is also, as are some of the other words treated here, defined precisely by the Beaufor meteorological scale, which is used by the weather bureaus. The Beaufor scale defines a breeze as a wind having a velocity of between 4 and 31 miles an hour; breezes are further defined as "light" (4-7 miles per hour), "gentle" (8-12), "moderate" (13-18), "fresh" (19-24) and strong (25-31).

Gale is a general term for a very strong wind capable of doing considerable damage to property and usually regarded as hazardous for small craft at sea. The Beaufort scale defines gale as a wind having a velocity of between 32 and 63 miles an hour; gales are further defined as "moderate" (32-38 miles per hour), "fresh" (39-46), "strong" (47-54) and "whole" (55-63).

Storm is a general term for any atmospheric disturbance, especially one marked by a great whirling motion of the air and accompanied by rain, snow, hail, etc. the Beaufor scale defines a storm as a wind having a velocity of between 64 and 75 miles an hour, thus placing it between a "whole gale " and hurricane , which is defined as a wind having a velocity of over 75 miles an hour.

Whirlwind , tornado and cyclone denote winds that whirl helically round a central axis. Though whirlwind is the general name, this word is used chiefly as a synonym for tornado , an extremely violent vortex of small diameter. A tornado is a severe local storm (although not all severe local storms are tornadoes ), and is sometimes visible as a funnel-shaped cloud of water vapour which moves in a relatively narrow path and can be devastating in its destructiveness. A dust-devil (or willy willy ) is a well-developed dust whirl , usually of shorter duration and of smaller intensity than a tornado . Diminutive dust-devils , perhaps no higher than a house and spinning harmlessly across the ground for less than 100 yards before dissipating, are commonly seen in open outback areas of Australia. The local name willy willy originally applied to storms on the west coast of Australia but is now used only in reference to dust-devils .

Technically, a cyclone is a vortex of large dimensions. In meteorology the term is confined to phenomena at least hundreds of miles in diameter. The winds of a cyclone spiral clockwise round an area of low barometric pressure in the southern hemisphere and anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere. The more intense type of cyclone may, if the wind velocity exceeds 75 miles per hour, be called a hurricane , although the term is not in universal usage. Generally speaking, hurricane is restricted to intense cyclones occurring in the south-western Atlantic area, the Caribbean Sea and on the west coast of Mexico. Such a cyclone is known in the North and South-West Pacific as a typhoon and in the Australian and Indian Ocean regions as a tropical cyclone .

A squall is a sudden and violent wind of short duration, and is often accompanied by rain or snow. The word is perhaps most commonly used to describe storms at sea. A blizzard is a high, cold wind accompanied by blinding snow that accumulates to a considerable depth. Tempest , nowadays a somewhat poetic term, can be applied to any storm of great violence, especially one involving both wind and rain, snow or hail.