The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
n. A strong, hot, sand-laden wind of the Sahara and Arabian deserts: "Stephen's heart had withered up like a flower of the desert that feels the simoom coming from afar” ( James Joyce). Also called samiel.
n. A hot, dry, suffocating, dust-laden wind of the desert, particularity of Arabia, Syria, and neighboring countries, generated by the extreme heat of the parched deserts or sandy plains.
the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English
n. A hot, dry, suffocating, dust-laden wind, that blows occasionally in Arabia, Syria, and neighboring countries, generated by the extreme heat of the parched deserts or sandy plains.
The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
n. An intensely hot dry wind prevalent in the Arabian desert, and on the heated plains of Sind and Kandahar, sudden in its occurrence, moving in a straight, narrow track, and characterized by its suffocating effects.
WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
n. a violent hot sand-laden wind on the deserts of Arabia and North Africa
Word Usage
"The approach of the simoom is a dense black cloud of whirling and seething fine dust."