thunderbolt

C2+ Topic:Weather & Climate

US /ˈθʌndɚˌboʊlt/ UK /ˈθʌndəbəʊlt/ See IPA manual

noun

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... lightning bolt flashlevinfulmination

Word family

Related forms thunder thunderclap thunderstorm

Etymology

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

# 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

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thunderbolt

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