thunderhead
/ˈθʌndɚˌhɛd/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.85 in modern English
19
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The top portion of a cumulonimbus cloud, which tends to be flattened or fibery in appearance, and may be indicative of thunderstorm activity.
Example Sentences
- "Half the sky was checkered with black thunderheads, but all the west was luminous and clear:"
- "The wisps of smoke above Léogane became dark and thick, and flowered into a towering thunderhead—an ominous cloud that drifted slowly to the westward and was constantly replenished at its base by uprushes of blacker smoke."
- "The sky ahead was huge with storm: all the whiteness had gone from the thunderheads, and they rolled and swirled with sulphur yellow, sea green, smoke gray, oil black, a queasy churning miles high and as wide as the horizon."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈθʌndɚˌhɛd/