Buys Ballot's law

proper noun

A rule stating that, in the Northern Hemisphere, if a person stands with their back to the wind, the atmospheric pressure is low to the left and high to the right (because wind travels counterclockwise around low-pressure zones in the Northern Hemisphere).

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. climatologyA rule stating that, in the Northern Hemisphere, if a person stands with their back to the wind, the atmospheric pressure is low to the left and high to the right (because wind travels counterclockwise around low-pressure zones in the Northern Hemisphere).

Origin

Named after C. H. D. Buys Ballot, Dutch meteorologist.

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Cite this entry
APA

Buys Ballot's law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Buys%20Ballot's%20law

MLA

“Buys Ballot's law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Buys%20Ballot's%20law. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Buys Ballot's law,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Buys%20Ballot's%20law.

Source: Buys Ballot's law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.