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View synonyms for thunderhead

thunderhead

[ thuhn-der-hed ]

noun

, Meteorology.
  1. the upper portion of a cumulus cloud characterized by dense, sharply defined, cauliflowerlike upper parts and sometimes by great verticality.


thunderhead

/ ˈθʌndəˌhɛd /

noun

  1. the anvil-shaped top of a cumulonimbus cloud
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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Word History and Origins

Origin of thunderhead1

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55; thunder + head
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Example Sentences

The funnel clouds that drop from thunderheads appear white at first and only become dark from the debris in their lifting whirlwinds.

From Salon

Once a prehistoric denizen of the deeps, it comes ashore on a tsunami tide, tall as a thunderhead, shrugging off artillery as it bellows a foghorn scream.

Fog often develops along the state’s coastline, but there is usually not enough wind to create the uplift needed to form the tall thunderheads, called cumulonimbus clouds, where lightning emerges, Mr. Baruffaldi said.

Overhead, thunderheads formed, dark and swollen as blood blisters.

Like their master, the South Wind, they were conflicted—half hot, dry sirocco, half stormy thunderhead.

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