thunderbolt

[ thuhn-der-bohlt ]
See synonyms for thunderbolt on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a flash of lightning with the accompanying thunder.

  2. an imaginary bolt or dart conceived as the material destructive agent cast to earth in a flash of lightning: the thunderbolts of Jove.

  1. something very destructive, terrible, severe, sudden, or startling.

  2. a person who acts with fury or with sudden and irresistible force.

Origin of thunderbolt

1
First recorded in 1400–50, thunderbolt is from late Middle English thondre bolte. See thunder, bolt1

Words Nearby thunderbolt

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use thunderbolt in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for thunderbolt

thunderbolt

/ (ˈθʌndəˌbəʊlt) /


noun
  1. a flash of lightning accompanying thunder

  2. the imagined agency of destruction produced by a flash of lightning

  1. (in mythology) the destructive weapon wielded by several gods, esp the Greek god Zeus: See also Thor

  2. something very startling

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