thunderbolt
Americannoun
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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.
An A-10 Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft also crashed during the mission to extract them, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine later said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 9, 2026
He drove fast Corvettes and owned multiple properties, plus a 42-foot yacht called Thunderbolt.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2024
Terens enlisted in 1942 and shipped to Great Britain the following year, attached to a four-pilot P-47 Thunderbolt fighter squadron as their radio repair technician.
From Seattle Times • Mar. 9, 2024
Israel's Operation Thunderbolt in Entebbe, Uganda in 1976 rescued 102 of the 106 hostages, but the commander of the Israeli commandos was killed.
From BBC • Dec. 16, 2023
I hoped Dad would say, “Hey, Albie, I just remembered I already bought you an A-10 Thunderbolt a year and a half ago. Where is it? I’m ready to help you finish it now.”
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
