a mass of snow, ice, and rocks falling rapidly down a mountainside

he was swept to his death by an avalanche in 1988

a sudden arrival or occurrence of something in overwhelming quantities

we have had an avalanche of applications for the post

a cumulative process in which a fast-moving ion or electron generates further ions and electrons by collision

(of a mass of snow, ice, etc.) descend rapidly down a mountainside

undergo a rapid increase in conductivity due to an avalanche process