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• thermos
  thermos

  noun

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

  noun

  a type of stoppered vacuum flask used to preserve the temperature of its contents See also Dewar flask

thermos

American  

[thur-muhs] / ˈθɜr məs /

noun

thermoses plural

1. 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 British  

/ ˈθɜːməs /

noun

1. a type of stoppered vacuum flask used to preserve the temperature of its contents See also Dewar flask

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• thermoses
  plural

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."

Related Words

• flask
• water bottle