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Synonyms

thunderstorm

American  
[thuhn-der-stawrm] / ˈθʌn dərˌstɔrm /

noun

  1. a transient storm of lightning and thunder, usually with rain and gusty winds, sometimes with hail or snow, produced by cumulonimbus clouds.

thunderstorm British  
/ ˈθʌndəˌstɔːm /

noun

  1. a storm caused by strong rising air currents and characterized by thunder and lightning and usually heavy rain or hail

"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
thunderstorm Scientific  
/ thŭn′dər-stôrm′ /

  1. A storm of heavy rain accompanied by lightning, thunder, wind, and sometimes hail. Thunderstorms occur when moist air near the ground becomes heated, especially in the summer, and rises, forming cumulonimbus clouds that produce precipitation. Electrical charges accumulate at the bases of the clouds until lightning is discharged. Air in the path of the lightning expands as a result of being heated, causing thunder. Thunderstorms can also be caused by temperature changes triggered by volcanic eruptions and forest fires, and they occur with much greater frequency at the equatorial regions than in polar regions.

Etymology

Origin of thunderstorm

First recorded in 1645–55; thunder + storm

Vocabulary lists containing thunderstorm

Physical Geography - Introductory

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Physical Geography - Middle School

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Earth Science - Middle School

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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.

A thunderstorm persisted for nearly two hours, bringing heavy rain and frequent lightning.

From Science Daily • Apr. 21, 2026

Lightning is one of the biggest risks, but it is not only the natural lightning from a thunderstorm - or cumulonimbus cloud - that forecasters will be concerned about.

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2026

One does wonder how the actors fishing while swapping such insipid dialogue don’t cross their leaders and spend most of the time untangling, before flying their plane into the middle of a Rocky Mountain thunderstorm.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 13, 2026

Another bushfire near the small town of Walwa crackled with lightning as it radiated enough heat to form a localised thunderstorm.

From Barron's • Jan. 11, 2026

A few years or decades of tranquility may see grasses replaced by shrubs and trees which are in turn flattened by a violent thunderstorm, permit ting the grass to thrive again.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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.