n.
Pronunciation: ' a-v ə - ˌ lanch
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from French dialect (Franco-Provençal) lavantse, avalantse
Date: 1771
1 : a large mass of snow, ice, earth, rock, or other material in swift motion down a mountainside or over a precipice
2 : a sudden great or overwhelming rush or accumulation of something <office workers tied down with an avalanche of paperwork>
3 : a cumulative process in which photons or accelerated charge carriers produce additional photons or charge carriers through collisions (as with gas molecules)