Meaning & use
thermos
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Meaning
nouncountabletrademark
An insulated container, usually a bottle or flask, that keeps drinks or food hot or cold for several hours.
Grammar: Countable: a thermos, two thermoses. Often written with a capital T when referring to the brand.
Patterns
- a thermos of coffee
- fill a thermos
- pour from a thermos
She filled her thermos with hot tea before leaving for the hike.
The children took a thermos of soup to school on the cold day.
He opened his thermos and poured a cup of coffee.
Word forms
| plural | thermoses |
|---|
Common combinations
- a thermos of coffee
- We brought a thermos of coffee to share at the picnic.
- fill a thermos
- Fill the thermos with boiling water to warm it first.
- pour from a thermos
- He poured hot chocolate from the thermos into two cups.
- keep something in a thermos
- You can keep the soup in a thermos until lunchtime.
Synonyms and how they differ
- vacuum flask
- Vacuum flask is the more technical British term; thermos is the common everyday word in both British and American English.
- flask
- Flask can mean a small bottle for liquids, often without insulation; a thermos is specifically insulated to keep drinks hot or cold.
Word family
- Thermos proper noun
- The original trademark name for this type of container.
Commonly confused: thermos or thermostat?
thermos vs thermostat
A thermostat controls temperature in a room or device; a thermos is a container that keeps food or drink hot or cold.
Practice
What is a 'thermos' used for?
Choose one answer.
A thermos is an insulated container that keeps liquids hot or cold. Option B is a thermometer; option C is a thermoplastic process; option D is a thermostat.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “thermos”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.