Thunderhead

//ˈθʌndɚˌhɛd// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    The top portion of a cumulonimbus cloud, which tends to be flattened or fibery in appearance, and may be indicative of thunderstorm activity.

    "Half the sky was checkered with black thunderheads, but all the west was luminous and clear:"

  2. 2
    a rounded projecting mass of a cumulus cloud with shining edges; often appears before a thunderstorm wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
cirruscloudlandcocktailcumulusdanger signdark cloud

Example

More examples

"When the vast Central plains of the United States darken with thunderhead clouds, and rain and hailstones begin to pelt the ground, everyone and everything takes cover, except the pilots of the armor-plated T-28 Storm Penetrator airplane."

Etymology

From thunder + head.

More for "thunderhead"

SynonymsSentencesPronunciationTranslate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsSee usage examplesCheck pronunciationBrowse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.