/ ˈævəlɑːnʃ; NAmE ˈævəlæntʃ/ ( NAmE also snow·slide ) noun
a mass of snow, ice and rock that falls down the side of a mountain :
alpine villages destroyed in an avalanche
( figurative )
We received an avalanche of letters in reply to our advertisement.
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WORD ORIGIN
late 18th cent.: from French , alteration of the Alpine dialect word lavanche (of unknown origin), influenced by avaler descend; compare with Italian valanga .