: a slender usually flexible animal appendage or projection: such as
a
: an arm of a barnacle
b
: a filament of a crinoid
c
: a fused group of cilia functioning like a limb on some protozoans
d
: the male copulatory organ of various invertebrate animals
3
: a high wispy white cloud usually of minute ice crystals formed at altitudes between about 20,000 and 40,000 feet (6,000 and 12,000 meters) see cloud illustration
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebWhen the cirrus clouds are lit with color, they can be mistaken for iridescence, according to the NWS. Caitlin O'kane, CBS News, 12 Aug. 2022 At those frigid heights, some of the particles become nuclei around which condensation gathers and then quickly freezes, helping to produce puffy contrails that either vanish or persist as wispy, high-altitude cirrus clouds.Wired, 28 July 2022 The three main types are cirrus, cirrostratus and cirrocumulus. Anna Kaufman, USA TODAY, 17 July 2022 One moment the November sky above Cedar Grove Ornithological Research Station was an inert cobalt canvas streaked with a few white cirrus clouds. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4 Dec. 2021 Unfortunately, Rowan-Robinson admitted in a recent research paper that the observations are not high quality and that the region of sky they were captured in is made of filaments of gas known as cirrus. Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 16 Nov. 2021 Carbon emissions are just one part of the industry’s contribution to climate change; nitrogen oxides, which form inside jet engines, and contrail cirrus clouds, which trap heat similar to greenhouse gases, are also major contributors. Dan Catchpole, Fortune, 9 Nov. 2021 Harps, flutes and vibraphones formed dissociating patterns like cirrus clouds atop the thick colors of an organ.Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2021 Since the sun is low to the horizon, those alternating shadows and strips of light were projected onto the underside of the thinner, more diaphanous cirrus clouds, which acted like a canvas for the delicate pastel hues.Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2021 See More