I. ˈthəndə(r)ˌbōlt noun
Etymology: Middle English thonder-bolte
1.
a. : a single discharge of lightning with the accompanying thunder
b.
(1) : an imaginery elongated mass cast as a missile to earth in the lightning flash
(2) : a stone or stone implement (as a hatchet or arrowhead) thought to be the material part of lightning ; broadly : thunderstone 2
2.
a. : a person or thing likened to lightning in suddenness, effectiveness, or destructive power
nuclear subs may hide under the polar ice cap, awaiting only a signal … to fire their thunderbolts — Newsweek
b. : vehement threatening or censure : fulmination
hurling thunderbolts at the newspapers — E.D.Canham
3. : a conventionalized representation of a thunderbolt ; specifically : a twisted bar with inflamed ends between two wings and with four jagged darts issuant from its center — used in heraldry
II. transitive verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
dialect Britain : to strike with a thunderbolt