scud

views updated Jun 11 2018

scud / skəd/ • v. (scud·ded, scud·ding) [intr.] move fast in a straight line because or as if driven by the wind: we lie watching the clouds scudding across the sky three small ships were scudding before a brisk breeze.• n. 1. chiefly poetic/lit. a formation of vapory clouds driven fast by the wind. ∎  a mass of windblown spray. ∎  a driving shower of rain or snow; a gust. ∎  the action of moving fast in a straight line when driven by the wind: the scud of the clouds before the wind.2. (Scud) (also Scud mis·sile) a type of long-range surface-to-surface guided missile able to be fired from a mobile launcher.

scud

views updated May 17 2018

scud move briskly, now esp. of objects driven by the wind. XVI. poss. alt. of SCUT, as if to race like a hare.

scud

views updated May 08 2018

scud Popular term for stratus fractus (fractostratus), a fragmented low cloud moving quickly beneath rain clouds.

scud

views updated Jun 27 2018

scud A popular name for stratus fractus (fractostratus), a fragmented low cloud moving quickly beneath rain clouds.