thermos

[thur-muh s]

See more synonyms for thermos on Thesaurus.com

noun

a vacuum bottle or similar container lined with an insulating material, such as polystyrene, to keep liquids hot or cold.

Origin of thermos

First recorded in 1905–10; formerly a trademark

Also called thermos bottle.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for thermos

Contemporary Examples

Even the humble espresso machine got bad press, despite being the size of a thermos cup and brought as a joke.
Breaking Mount Everest’s Glass Ceiling
Amanda Padoan, Peter Zuckerman
March 30, 2014
Back at the cabin we sit together on a log near the porch and drink bourbon and ice water out of the Thermos cap.
Pete Dexter’s Indelible Portrait of Author Norman Maclean
Pete Dexter
March 23, 2014
She once hit him over the head with a thermos in the back of a car because he was acting up so badly on a road trip.
Meghan McCain on Her Grandmother Roberta McCain’s 100th Birthday
Meghan McCain
February 7, 2012
She does not drink water, only red wine from Domaine Tempier, Champagne, and a thermos of tisane before bed.
Alice Waters’ Favorite Vineyard
Sophie Menin
August 14, 2010

Historical Examples

In their places, suddenly, there were the thermos and the binoculars.
The Hohokam Dig
Theodore Pratt
The day of that blessed comfort of the trail, the thermos flask, was not yet.
Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled
Hudson Stuck
So she gets out the sandwiches and the thermos bottle and we take it that way.
Torchy and Vee
Sewell Ford
They filled the thermos bottle that had so puzzled Tom, and then sallied forth.
Nan Sherwood at Pine Camp
Annie Roe Carr
They had a thermos bottle of cold tea which they referred to as “rum.”
The Cricket
Marjorie Cooke

British Dictionary definitions for thermos

Thermos

Thermos flask

noun

trademark a type of stoppered vacuum flask used to preserve the temperature of its contentsSee also Dewar flask

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

Word Origin and History for thermos

Thermos

n.

trademark registered in Britain 1907, invented by Sir James Dewar (patented 1904 but not named then), from Greek thermos "hot" (see thermal). Dewar built the first one in 1892, but it was first manufactured commercially in Germany in 1904, when two glass blowers formed Thermos GmbH. Supposedly the company sponsored a contest to name the thing, and a Munich resident won with a submission of Thermos.

thermos

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Examples from the Web for thermos

Contemporary Examples

Even the humble espresso machine got bad press, despite being the size of a thermos cup and brought as a joke.

Back at the cabin we sit together on a log near the porch and drink bourbon and ice water out of the Thermos cap.

She once hit him over the head with a thermos in the back of a car because he was acting up so badly on a road trip.

She does not drink water, only red wine from Domaine Tempier, Champagne, and a thermos of tisane before bed.

Historical Examples

In their places, suddenly, there were the thermos and the binoculars.

The day of that blessed comfort of the trail, the thermos flask, was not yet.

So she gets out the sandwiches and the thermos bottle and we take it that way.

They filled the thermos bottle that had so puzzled Tom, and then sallied forth.

They had a thermos bottle of cold tea which they referred to as “rum.”

Thermos

Thermos flask

Word Origin and History for thermos

Thermos

n.

Origin of thermos