Definition of "thermal" in English

adjective

1. Pertaining to heat or temperature.

2. (fabric) Providing efficient insulation so as to keep the body warm.

3. Caused or brought about by heat.

4. (stone) Having a rough finish from treatment with a blowtorch.

noun

1. (meteorology) A column of rising air in the lower atmosphere created by uneven heating of a planet's surface.

verb

1. (stone) To create a rough finish on stone by treating it with a high-temperature blowtorch.

2. (gliding, often in the present participle) To fly an unpowered aircraft in a thermal (column of rising air).