thunderbolt
Americannoun
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thunderbolts
plural
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a flash of lightning with the accompanying thunder.
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an imaginary bolt or dart conceived as the material destructive agent cast to earth in a flash of lightning.
the thunderbolts of Jove.
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something very destructive, terrible, severe, sudden, or startling.
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a person who acts with fury or with sudden and irresistible force.
noun
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a flash of lightning accompanying thunder
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the imagined agency of destruction produced by a flash of lightning
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(in mythology) the destructive weapon wielded by several gods, esp the Greek god Zeus See also Thor
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something very startling
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of thunderbolt
First recorded in 1400–50, thunderbolt is from late Middle English thondre bolte. See thunder, bolt 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Cameroon also fell behind, against Mozambique in Agadir, but a thunderbolt from Christian Kofane delivered a 2-1 victory.
From Barron's ● Dec. 31, 2025
The attack fell like a thunderbolt on the country’s tightly knit Jewish community.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 15, 2025
For me, it was a thunderbolt of thrill followed by pure abject terror that we might disappoint or “not have something good for her.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2024
The higher-for-longer inflation predicament has hit the U.S. housing market like a thunderbolt.
From New York Times ● Apr. 12, 2024
One of the wheel axles snapped with the sound of a thunderbolt.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
Glenn Phillips was the unfortunate recipient of Archer's thunderbolts, somehow surviving to reach 49 not out.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
Some of them resemble branching snowflakes, thunderbolts or neurons, whispering the unique expression of the artist's vision.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 3, 2024
Raining basketballs, strobe lights, rotating school hallways, CGI thunderbolts?
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2023
"I think Diana ... will be hurling thunderbolts on coronation day, that's for sure," royal author Tina Brown told Reuters.
From Reuters ● May 6, 2023
Slowly Father raised one arm above his head like one of those gods they had in Roman times, fixing to send down the thunderbolts and the lightning.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
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