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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.

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therm- ² American  

1. variant of thermo- before a vowel.

   thermesthesia.

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-therm ³ American  

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

   isotherm.

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therm. ⁴ American  

abbreviation

1. thermometer.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of therm

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

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

therm therm.

The UK benchmark peaked briefly at almost 183p per therm on Thursday before easing back to 154.8p, an 11.3% increase from Wednesday's level.

From BBC ● Mar. 19, 2026

A therm of gas delivered to the UK was assumed to cost 74 pence.

From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026

It closed at 138p a therm, still over a fifth higher than Monday's price, before falling to 127p on Wednesday.

From BBC ● Mar. 5, 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

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