Meanings
- not comparableDescribing various weapons that use atmospheric oxygen to produce a blast wave of a significantly longer duration than those produced by condensed explosives.
As he spoke, soldiers scrawled messages of retribution on the wings of a dozen drones, each packed with thermobaric explosives.
2026 June 10, Marc Santora, “A Twist in Ukraine’s Drone Campaign Is ‘Really Hurting the Russians’”, in The New York Times, →ISSN1 more example
Fears have risen over the use of thermobaric weapons by Russia after the Ukrainian ambassador to the US said a vacuum bomb – another term for the weapon – had been used during the invasion.
2022 March 1, Virginia Harrison, “What are thermobaric weapons and how do they work?”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 01 Mar 2022
Origin
From thermo- + baric, derived from the Ancient Greek words for “heat” and “pressure”: θερμοβαρικός (thermobarikós), from θερμός (thermós, “hot”) + βάρος (báros, “weight, pressure”) + -ικός (-ikós, “-ic”).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Dutch thermobarisch
- thermobarischTranslations
Finnish termobaarinen
- termobaarinenTranslations
French thermobarique
- thermobariqueTranslations
Greek θερμοβαρικός
- θερμοβαρικός (thermovarikós)Translations
Italian termobarico
- termobaricoTranslations
Polish termobaryczny
- termobarycznyTranslations
Portuguese termobárico
- termobáricoTranslations
Spanish termobárico
- termobáricoTranslations
Cite this entry
thermobaric. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thermobaric
“thermobaric.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thermobaric. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “thermobaric,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/thermobaric.
Source: thermobaric on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.