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thunderbolt

American  
[thuhn-der-bohlt] / ˈθʌn dərˌboʊlt /

noun

  1. a flash of lightning with the accompanying thunder.

  2. an imaginary bolt or dart conceived as the material destructive agent cast to earth in a flash of lightning.

    the thunderbolts of Jove.

  3. something very destructive, terrible, severe, sudden, or startling.

  4. a person who acts with fury or with sudden and irresistible force.

thunderbolt British  
/ ˈθʌndəˌbəʊlt /

noun

  1. a flash of lightning accompanying thunder

  2. the imagined agency of destruction produced by a flash of lightning

  3. (in mythology) the destructive weapon wielded by several gods, esp the Greek god Zeus See also Thor

  4. something very startling

"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 thunderbolt

First recorded in 1400–50, thunderbolt is from late Middle English thondre bolte. See thunder, bolt 1

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.

Isn’t their pitching staff stocked with more premium stuff than the renowned Thunderbolt bar a few blocks from Dodger Stadium?

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 14, 2025

Terens enlisted in 1942 and shipped to Great Britain the following year, attached to a four-pilot P-47 Thunderbolt fighter squadron as their radio repair technician.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 9, 2024

Israel's Operation Thunderbolt in Entebbe, Uganda in 1976 rescued 102 of the 106 hostages, but the commander of the Israeli commandos was killed.

From BBC • Dec. 16, 2023

The USS Thunderbolt — a patrol ship that was in the area — as well as a Sea Hawk helicopter based in Bahrain responded to the incident, the military said.

From Washington Post • Aug. 30, 2022

I didn’t mean to build a real model A-10 Thunderbolt.

From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff

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.