thunderbolt C2+ Topic:Weather & Climate US /ˈθʌndɚˌboʊlt/ UK /ˈθʌndəbəʊlt/ See IPA manual Meanings 1 noun a flash of lightning with a simultaneous crash of thunder A thunderbolt split the ancient oak in the field overnight. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a flash of lightning with a... lightningboltflashlevinfulmination Word family Related forms thunderthunderclapthunderstorm Etymology AI details A compound of thunder (Old English thunor) + bolt (Old English bolt 'arrow, missile'), conceived as a missile hurled with the thunder. thunor Old English bolt Old English View etymology graph -> Topics Weather & Climate External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # thunderbolt **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈθʌndɚˌboʊlt/ **IPA (UK):** /ˈθʌndəbəʊlt/ ## Meanings 1. a flash of lightning with a simultaneous crash of thunder ## Examples - A thunderbolt split the ancient oak in the field overnight. ## Synonyms - lightning - bolt - flash - levin - fulmination ## Related Forms - thunder - thunderclap - thunderstorm ## Roots and Affixes - Root: thunor - Root: bolt ## Etymology A compound of thunder (Old English thunor) + bolt (Old English bolt 'arrow, missile'), conceived as a missile hurled with the thunder. ## AI Etymology Thunderbolt is a compound of thunder (Old English thunor) + bolt (Old English bolt 'arrow, missile'), conceived as a missile hurled with the thunder. Important recorded forms include thunor (Old English) and bolt (Old English). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense continues the older lexical line without requiring a separate origin. In current use it covers a flash of lightning with a simultaneous crash of thunder. The wider family includes related words such as thunder, thunderclap, and thunderstorm. ## Topics - Weather & Climate markdown