thermos
noun
a vacuum bottle or similar container lined with an insulating material, such as polystyrene, to keep liquids hot or cold.
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thermos
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Thermos
Thermosnouna type of stoppered vacuum flask used to preserve the temperature of its contents See also Dewar flask
thermos
American
[thur-muhs]
/ ˈθɜr məs /
noun
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thermoses
plural
Thermos
British
/ ˈθɜːməs /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of thermos
First recorded in 1905–10; formerly a trademark
Explanation
A thermos is a portable container that keeps liquids hot or cold for a long time. When you go ice skating, you may want to bring along a thermos of hot chocolate. Officially, the word Thermos is spelled with a capital T, since like Band-Aid and Kleenex, it's actually a trademarked brand name. Still, it's common to refer to vacuum flasks (even those not made by the Thermos company) generally as thermoses. The very first thermos was made in 1892, and they were produced commercially starting in 1904. In Greek, the word thermos means "hot."
Vocabulary lists containing thermos
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 1960s and 1970s, he would be up before the sun to pack a thermos of coffee and a camp lunch in one saddle bag and an acrid, tar-like screwworm killer in the other.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
The base fits in cupholders; the handle makes it easier to sip from a heavy thermos while multitasking.
From Slate ● Jan. 18, 2024
Hayes also owns the green Stanley thermos, which she takes on hikes and snowshoeing trips with hot cocoa or hot water to stay warm.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2024
When I was growing up, the holidays meant no school, which gave me the chance to curl up on the couch in a robe and fuzzy socks while drinking hot chocolate from a red thermos.
From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
Mrs. Rudyard had packed a tall thermos of milk and a package of tall biscuits slathered with butter and bright strawberry jam.
From "Homecoming" by Cynthia Voigt
“If you have not prepared, you don’t have time to fill the Thermos, and there’s no warm water or formula,” she said.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 1, 2022
Just pour the packet of powder into a Thermos of hot water.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2022
But like self-absorbed restaurant owners everywhere, I push for more, hungry for feedback about the roll I selected for the brisket sandwich or the artful saucing of the pasta in her Thermos.
From New York Times ● Sep. 20, 2019
A group of us camped outside the night before – it was so cold; in hindsight we should have taken a Thermos and some sandwiches – because it was a big adventure.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 13, 2019
The door opened, and another Tlingit woman brought in a Thermos of hot soup and set it next to the bed.
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
If we’re dealing in clichés, these thermoses belong in the lunchbox of a guy taking a break from the assembly line or in the hands of a construction worker.
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2024
They collected blaze-yellow protective gear from lockers in the back, donned hard hats and tugged at thermoses of coffee and cans of Rockstar — readying for another long and grueling day.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2023
It was a cool fall morning and families sat on blankets or newspapers in the grass, passing around thermoses of tea.
From Slate ● Sep. 20, 2022
The maker of coolers and thermoses held up better than the broader market after reporting strong first-quarter financial results.
From Seattle Times ● May 11, 2022
Barbara Powers packed her husband a bag with thermoses of coffee and soup, six sandwiches, pickles, and cookies.
From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin
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.
