Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A unit of heat equal to 100,000 British thermal units (1.054 × 108 joules).
  • noun A unit of heat equal to 1,000 large calories.
  • noun A unit of heat equal to the large calorie.
  • noun A unit of heat equal to the small calorie.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A unit of thermal capacity variously defined as the equivalent of the gram-calory, the kilogram-calory and one thousand kilogram-calories. Of these values the one commonly accepted is that which makes the therm equal to one gram-calory.
  • noun See tharm.
  • noun A hot bath; by extension, any bath or pool.
  • noun In physics, a thermal unit, the water-gram-degree or (small) calory, the amount of heat required to raise one gram of water at its maximum density through one degree centigrade.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun one of several units of heat, especially one equivalent to 1000 large calories, or 100,000 British thermal units.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A former unit of heat equal to 100,000 British thermal units

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a unit of heat equal to 100,000 British thermal units

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Greek thermē, heat, from thermos, warm, hot; see gwher- in Indo-European roots.]

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Examples

  • A therm is the energy generated by burning 100 cubic feet of gas.

    unknown title 2009

  • Currently, long-term fixed contracts for Russian natural gas are reported to be priced at 70 English pence per therm which is equivalent to $11.15 per MBTU.

    Shale Gas Will Tip The Scale 2009

  • Smaller edifices, like temples and mausoleums, were adapted bodily to their new office, while the larger ones, such as thermæ, theatres, circuses, and barracks were occupied in parts only.

    Pagan and Christian Rome Rodolfo Amedeo Lanciani 1888

  • Currently, long-term fixed contracts for Russian natural gas are reported to be priced at 70 English pence per therm which is equivalent to $11.15 per MBTU.

    Peak Oil News 2009

  • "I was told that my usage had not changed but the cost of a 'therm' had gone from 77 cents to

    unknown title 2009

  • U.K. gas prices, which can reflect conditions in the global LNG market, were up about 4% at 68.8 pence per therm.

    Energy Markets on Alert for Japan's Damage Report Sarah Kent 2011

  • E.g., my latest gas bill charged me $0.82/therm for gas and $.25/therm for distribution.

    Coyote Blog » Blog Archive » Bring it On 2010

  • At the National Balancing Point in the U.K., one of the main gas-trading points in Europe, the Summer 11 NBP contract was trading at 65.9 pence a therm Tuesday, up from 59.4 pence on Friday, an 11% rise.

    Energy Merchants Hunt for LNG Guy Chazan 2011

  • Resource cost needs to be adjusted to the NEED vs. exceed situations so that people that care (use less) pay less per watt, gallon, or therm than their inefficient counterparts.

    Greenwashing Eli Manning’s New Hybrid Caddi-Wack Escalade | Inhabitat 2008

  • April 30th, 2008 10: 14 am ET now americain are not easy to fool after two therm of bush in white house who put americains people in deep trouble, they know who is best for the country obama 08

    Obama adds a third new superdelegate in 24 hours 2008

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