- a flash of lightning accompanying thunder
- the imagined agency of destruction produced by a flash of lightning
- (in mythology) the destructive weapon wielded by several gods, esp the Greek god Zeus
See also Thor - something very startling
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
thun•der•bolt /ˈθʌndɚˌboʊlt/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- Meteorologya flash of lightning along with the thunder that comes with it.
thun•der•bolt
(thun′dər bōlt′),USA pronunciation n.
- Meteorologya flash of lightning with the accompanying thunder.
- an imaginary bolt or dart conceived as the material destructive agent cast to earth in a flash of lightning:the thunderbolts of Jove.
- something very destructive, terrible, severe, sudden, or startling.
- a person who acts with fury or with sudden and irresistible force.
- late Middle English thondre bolte. See thunder, bolt1 1400–50
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
thunderbolt /ˈθʌndəˌbəʊlt/ n
'thunderbolt' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Phaëthon
- Thor
- bolt
- coup de foudre
- fulminate
- isoceraunic
- thunderstrike
- thunderstruck
- vajra