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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:

The benchmark UK gas price also jumped by 6% to 143.53p a therm before falling back below the 140p mark.

From BBC Mar. 18, 2026

British wholesale gas prices have fallen from a peak of 640p per year in August 2022, to around 70p per therm.

From BBC May 20, 2023

In August, the UK benchmark price for gas for delivery the following day peaked at 550p a therm.

From BBC Nov. 4, 2022

British gas for immediate delivery was up 85 pence to 450 pence per therm at 0940 GMT, while the day-ahead contract rose 119 pence to 480 p/therm.

From Reuters Aug. 22, 2022

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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