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  • therm
    therm
    noun
    any of several units of heat, as one equivalent to 1000 large calories or 100,000 British thermal units.
  • therm-
    therm-
    variant of thermo- before a vowel.
  • -therm
    -therm
    variant of thermo- as final element in compound words.
  • therm.
    therm.
    abbreviation
    thermometer.

therm

1 American  
[thurm] / θɜrm /
Or therme

noun

Physics.
  1. any of several units of heat, as one equivalent to 1000 large calories or 100,000 British thermal units.


therm- 2 American  
  1. variant of thermo- before a vowel.

    thermesthesia.


-therm 3 American  
  1. variant of thermo- as final element in compound words.

    isotherm.


therm. 4 American  

abbreviation

  1. thermometer.


therm British  
/ θɜːm /

noun

  1. a unit of heat equal to 100 000 British thermal units. One therm is equal to 1.055 056 × 10 8 joules

"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

Etymology

Origin of therm

First recorded in 1885–90, therm is from the Greek word thérmē heat

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:

In the UK, it rose above 200p a therm for the first time since the end of 2022.

From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2026

Gas prices have also risen steadily over the past month, with the benchmark UK gas price currently at around 150 per therm, up from around 98p per therm on 26 June.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

When trading began on Thursday morning, UK gas prices briefly surged over 30%, and are currently up about 22% at 170p per therm.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026

Oil reached $116.78 a barrel on 9 March, while UK gas reached 162.55p a therm on 3 March.

From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2026

Joule's Equivalent—J.—is the amount of energy equivalent to a therm or calorie, the metric unit of heat.

From The Story of Electricity by John Munro

Detached thermometer 83° 3', attached ditto 83° 3'; barometer 23.262, mean of three observations: old therm. bar.

From Journals of Travels in Assam, Burma, Bhootan, Afghanistan and the Neighbouring Countries by William Griffith

The Shereef has planted some horse-beans; "the only beans of the kind," says the gardener, "in all the territories of Bornou." 31st.—The weather is increasingly cool; therm. at sunrise, 50°.

From Narrative of a Mission to Central Africa Performed in the Years 1850-51, Volume 2 Under the Orders and at the Expense of Her Majesty's Government by James Richardson

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