thump

American  

[thuhmp] / θʌmp /

noun

• thumps
  plural

1. a blow with something thick and heavy, producing a dull sound; a heavy knock.

2. the sound made by or as if by such a blow.

---

verb (used with object)

• thumps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• thumped,
  past participle,  past
• thumping
  present participle

1. to strike or beat with something thick and heavy, so as to produce a dull sound; pound.

2. (of an object) to strike against (something) heavily and noisily.

3. Informal. to thrash severely.

verb (used without object)

• thumps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• thumped,
  past participle,  past
• thumping
  present participle

1. to strike, beat, or fall heavily, with a dull sound.

2. to walk with heavy steps; pound.

3. to palpitate or beat violently, as the heart.

thump British  

/ θʌmp /

noun

1. the sound of a heavy solid body hitting or pounding a comparatively soft surface

2. a heavy blow with the hand

   he gave me a thump on the back

---

verb

1. (tr) to strike or beat heavily; pound

2. (intr) to throb, beat, or pound violently

   his heart thumped with excitement

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• thumper
  noun
• unthumped
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• thumps
  plural

Participles

• thumping
  present
• thumped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• thump
  simple
• thumps
  simple
• have thumped
  perfect
• has thumped
  perfect
• am thumping
  progressive
• are thumping
  progressive
• is thumping
  progressive
• have been thumping
  perfect progressive
• has been thumping
  perfect progressive

Past

• thumped
  simple
• had thumped
  perfect
• was thumping
  progressive
• were thumping
  progressive
• had been thumping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will thump
  simple
• will have thumped
  perfect
• will be thumping
  progressive
• will have been thumping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of thump

First recorded in 1530–40; imitative

Explanation

A thump is a hard, thudding sound, or an equally hard hit or blow, like the thump your older brother gives you when you embarrass him in front of his friends. If you drop your backpack full of books it'll make a thump as it hits the floor. And, if your friend starts to choke on his lemonade at lunch, you might want to give him a thump on the back. You can also thump enthusiastically on a drum. Thump is an imitative word, one that mimics the sound of hitting something heavily. It dates from the sixteenth century.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thump thumps thumped thumping

“When the males interact with each other, you hear the thump thump thump of their paws.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

During that stage, teams will directly measure the aircraft's supersonic flight signature to confirm that it is producing the quiet supersonic thump it was designed to generate.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026

Rangers' incredible fightback from two goals down to thump Falkirk 6-3 has put the spotlight even more on the possibility of Scotland's thrilling three-team title race being decided on goal difference.

From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026

Moments later, a bass thump sounded in the distance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

Seven steps into the trees, I closed my eyes and filtered out the noise of the birds and breeze, and the city beyond that, until a distant but steady thump came to me.

From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Alcaraz turns around and thumps Sinner at the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026

In other videos we verified from the night of the fire, some people in the bar can be seen filming the flames as loud club music thumps in the background.

From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2026

As the beat from Azealia Banks’ “212” thumps in the background, she bounces around her tiny New York bedroom, twirling like a chemically enhanced cool girl.

From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2025

The cinematographer Ashley Connor seizes every chance to peacock with a zippy rack focus as the soundtrack thumps with a terrific mix of old and new bangers from all corners of the globe.

From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023

But in Shaker Heights, things were peaceful, and riots and bombs and earthquakes were quiet thumps, muffled by distance.

From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng

Bairstow, who made 136 from 92 balls, fell just before the end but Stokes remained and thumped the winning boundary to take the home side to victory with 22 overs to spare.

From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026

The Angels thumped the Colorado Rockies 11-4, but one good night cannot change the trajectory of a miserable season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

Its return of more than 1,000% since then is one reason the lowest-P/Eers thumped the market over that stretch.

From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026

As the sun faded, the square thumped with screams of the crowd.

From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026

After they hugged and thumped each other’s backs, Okeoma looked at him.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Although the stock recovered later, it still ended the day with another thumping 10% loss.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

As the quiet counterparts to ocean liners, river cruises offer a world of classical pianists over thumping bass, Gothic palaces over Bahamian private islands, and fine Barolo instead of margaritas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Its 2020 debut album, “PDE,” experimented more with the prickly, sad sierreño sound popularized by acts like Eslabon Armado and DannyLux — as well as trap-infused corridos tumbados with a thumping tololoche.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

The new model was flashy, black-light entertainment with thumping music, huge video screens, arcade games and claw machines, along with upscale food and drink at double or triple the prices of standard bowling-alley fare.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

My mind is too busy, and my heart is thumping too hard.

From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler

Related Words

• thud