What does climate mean?
Climate has two closely related meanings. Its primary sense denotes the long-term pattern of weather conditions—temperature, precipitation, humidity, and wind—that typifies a region over years or decades, as distinct from weather, which describes moment-to-moment atmospheric conditions. A place may be described as having a tropical, arid, or temperate climate. The word also carries an important figurative sense: the prevailing mood, attitude, or set of conditions within a society, institution, or field of activity, as in 'a climate of fear', 'the political climate', or 'a favorable investment climate'. This extended use makes climate especially valuable in journalism, business writing, and public discourse. Derived forms include the adjective climatic and the field of climatology, the scientific study of climates. Because it bridges the literal and the metaphorical so naturally, climate is one of those words that rewards attention: using it precisely signals both scientific literacy and rhetorical skill.
The composite or generally prevailing weather conditions of a region, such as temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation, sunshine, cloudiness, and winds, throughout the year, averaged over a series of years.
"Vineyards flourish in the sunny Mediterranean climate of southern France."
In technical usage (climatology), a period of at least 30 years is typically used to establish a region's climate averages.
The prevailing attitudes, standards, or environmental conditions that characterize a group, period, or setting; the general atmosphere of opinion or feeling.
"The company worked hard to foster a culture of openness despite a corporate climate that often discouraged dissent."
The plural typically appears when comparing the conditions of different regions or periods, or when listing several figurative atmospheres.
"Travelers moving between different climates should prepare for sudden changes in temperature."
"Climate" comes from the Greek word for "slope" — the ancients thought your latitude's tilt toward the sun determined everything about where you lived.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of climate
Climate derives from the ancient Greek klima, meaning 'slope' or 'inclination' (from klinein, 'to lean'), referring to the slope of the earth from equator to pole as conceived by early geographers. Latin borrowed it as clima (plural climata), and Middle French carried it into English around the late 14th century, where it initially denoted a zone or band of latitude believed to determine local conditions. By the 16th and 17th centuries its sense had shifted to the weather typical of a region, and later still to figurative uses describing prevailing moods or conditions. Cognates and derivatives include acclimatize, climax (from a related Greek root meaning ladder or slope), and the adjective climatic.
Related word forms
How climate is actually used
Both senses are standard and neutral in register. The figurative sense (as in 'the economic climate' or 'a climate of suspicion') is very common in journalism and formal writing. In scientific contexts, 'climatic' is the preferred adjective rather than the informal 'climate-related'.
Easily confused with climate
Weather refers to short-term atmospheric conditions on a given day, while climate describes the long-term average pattern of those conditions over decades or more.