thunderbolt
/ˈθʌndə(ɹ)ˌboʊlt/ noun, verb, proper noun
Forms thunderbolts thunderbolting thunderbolted
- noun A flash of lightning accompanied by a crash of thunder.
- noun (figuratively) An event that is terrible, horrific or unexpected. “News of the actress’s death came as a thunderbolt to her fans.”
- noun Vehement threatening or censure; especially, ecclesiastical denunciation; fulmination.
- noun (soccer) A very powerful shot.
- noun (paleontology) A belemnite, or thunderstone.
- noun (heraldry) A charge in the form of two joined bundles with four rays of lightning emerging from them, resembling the thunderbolt of Jupiter.
- noun A daring or irresistible hero.
- verb (transitive, rare) To strike with a thunderbolt.
- verb (rare) To move swiftly and violently.
- proper noun (computer hardware, trademark) A computer interface standard for connecting devices, combining PCI Express, DisplayPort and DC power in one connector.
Synonyms
Etymology
From thunder + bolt.
By analogy with the speed and power of a thunderbolt.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A shaft of lightning; a brilliant stream of electricity passing from one part of the heavens to another, or from the clouds to the earth.
- noun Something resembling lightning in suddenness and effectiveness.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “thunderbolt”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details