The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Whirlwind \Whirl"wind`\, n. [Cf. Icel. hvirfilvindr, Sw.
   hvirfvelvind, Dan. hvirvelvind, G. wirbelwind. See Whirl,
   and Wind, n.]
   [1913 Webster]
   1. A violent windstorm of limited extent, as the tornado,
      characterized by an inward spiral motion of the air with
      an upward current in the center; a vortex of air. It
      usually has a rapid progressive motion.
      [1913 Webster]

            The swift dark whirlwind that uproots the woods.
            And drowns the villages.              --Bryant.
      [1913 Webster]

   Note: Some meteorologists apply the word whirlwind to the
         larger rotary storm also, such as cyclones.
         [1913 Webster]

   2. Fig.: A body of objects sweeping violently onward. "The
      whirlwind of hounds and hunters." --Macaulay.
      [1913 Webster]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

whirlwind
    n 1: a more or less vertical column of air whirling around
         itself as it moves over the surface of the Earth

Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:

58 Moby Thesaurus words for "whirlwind":
   Charybdis, ado, baguio, blaze, burst, bustle, convulsion, cyclone,
   dizzy round, dust devil, eddy, eruption, explosion, fit, flare-up,
   flurry, furore, fuss, gale, gurge, gust, gyre, hurricane,
   irruption, maelstrom, outbreak, outburst, paroxysm, pirouette,
   pother, rainspout, rat race, reel, rotary storm, round,
   sand column, sandspout, seizure, spasm, spin, storm, surge, swirl,
   tempest, tornado, turn, twirl, twister, typhoon, upheaval, vortex,
   waterspout, wheel, whirl, whirlblast, whirlpool, whirly,
   wind eddy



The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (30 December 2018):

Whirlwind

    An early computer from the MIT Research Laboratory
   for Electronics.

   Whirlwind used electrostatic memory and ran Laning and
   Zierler (1953); and ALGEBRAIC, COMPREHENSIVE and SUMMER
   SESSION (all 1959).

   [Details, reference?]

   (2002-06-03)