global warming

noun

: an increase in the earth's atmospheric and oceanic temperatures widely predicted to occur due to an increase in the greenhouse effect resulting especially from pollution

A Russian-owned tanker, built to traverse the frozen waters of the Arctic, completed a journey in record time from Europe to Asia this month, auguring the future of shipping as global warming melts sea ice.

Russell Goldman

Debates about stem cells, global warming, and alternative energy might be less contentious if the scientific issues behind them were better understood.

Elizabeth Gettelman

The development is also meant to boost tourism in Zermatt, which, like many Alpine towns worried about the effects of global warming on winter tourism, is exploring ways to draw visitors throughout the year.

Jim Rendon

… I think it makes a compelling case, at least for most audiences, that humans are the cause of most of the global warming that is taking place, and that unless we take quick action the consequences for our planetary home could become irreversible.

Al Gore

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web More than twenty million species may be lost because of our destructive behaviors, which lead to deforestation, spillage of toxic chemicals, and global warming.

Jerome Groopman, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2022 Our dystopian present is not lacking in democracy-warping horrors—global warming, rising authoritarianism, a never-ending pandemic, and the rollback of reproductive and voting rights.

Victor Ray, The New Republic, 5 Dec. 2022 Teams of meteorologists across the world have predicted there is nearly a 50-50 chance that Earth will temporarily hit a global warming temperature threshold international agreements are trying to prevent within the next five years.

Travis Loller And Jonathan Mattise, al, 3 Dec. 2022 Leopard is always in fashion and Von Miller looks like his inspiration was global warming in this fluffy coat.

Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 29 Nov. 2022 Electric vehicles are just one of the many solutions that engineers have been pushing as a way to cut down on global warming and greenhouse gas emissions.

Joshua Hawkins, BGR, 24 Nov. 2022 The Times’ Jack Dolan summited Africa’s highest peak and wrote about the startling dearth of ice and snow, as global warming melts Kilimanjaro’s iconic glaciers.

Sammy Rothstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 24 Nov. 2022 As the leader of one of the world’s biggest and most invasive iron ore mining operations, Andrew Forrest has done more to propel global warming than some small countries.

Evan Halper, Washington Post, 24 Nov. 2022 That leaves the world with the promise of a more just climate finance system, but still at high risk of blowing past the global warming targets set under the Paris Agreement.

Tim Mcdonnell, Quartz, 20 Nov. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'global warming.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Word History

First Known Use

1953, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of global warming was in 1953

See more words from the same year

Cite this Entry

Style

“Global warming.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/global%20warming. Accessed 7 Dec. 2022.

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