thud
Americannoun
-
thuds
plural
-
a dull sound, as of a heavy blow or fall.
-
a blow causing such a sound.
verb (used without object)
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thuds,
present (3rd person singular)
-
thudded,
past participle, past
-
thudding
present participle
noun
-
a dull heavy sound
the book fell to the ground with a thud
-
a blow or fall that causes such a sound
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
thudsimple
-
thudssimple
-
have thuddedperfect
-
has thuddedperfect
-
am thuddingprogressive
-
are thuddingprogressive
-
is thuddingprogressive
-
have been thuddingperfect progressive
-
has been thuddingperfect progressive
Past
-
thuddedsimple
-
had thuddedperfect
-
was thuddingprogressive
-
were thuddingprogressive
-
had been thuddingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of thud
1505–15; imitative; compare Middle English thudden, Old English thyddan to strike, press
Explanation
To thud is to make the loud sound of something heavy hitting or falling. Tip your chair too far back and your body may thud against the floor. Throw an egg off a balcony onto the pavement below, and it will splat, but throw a heavy dumbbell off the same balcony and it will thud — you can call the sound it makes a thud as well. The verb originally meant "to strike, stab, or thrust," from the Old English imitative word þyddan, and the noun was used to mean "blast of wind" in the early sixteenth century.
Vocabulary lists containing thud
"The Pedestrian" by Ray Bradbury
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Shiloh
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The Subtle Knife
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The thud of fists walloping punching bags reverberates through the gym from morning until evening.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Every golfer knows the feeling: a solid swing, a hopeful flight, and then the soft thud as the ball disappears into a bunker.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 4, 2026
The discrepancy makes for a uniquely unnerving experience, especially in a theater with a decent sound system, where every unexpected thud can feel like it’s creeping in closer and closer.
From Salon ● Mar. 15, 2026
This one feels like it probably sounded really funny and smart at the table read, but it landed with a thud for the audience because the premise was so muddled.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026
With a thud Neel plunked down on the chair Headmaster had vacated, the chair crafted so lovingly by Baba, the chair that had carried him through those long, long hours of studying.
From "Tiger Boy" by Mitali Perkins
He has since returned to training at his Tokyo stable, where the bone-crunching thuds of wrestlers colliding echoes around the walls six mornings a week.
From Barron's ● Feb. 4, 2026
Tom has reached an age when he can no longer get around the house without an accompaniment of creaks and groans and thuds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 26, 2025
Over the course of four decades, Oscar-winning sound designer Richard King has accumulated a library of tens of thousands of thuds, thwacks, clacks and other original recordings, yet he’s still always searching for something new.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2024
Mid-way through the audio, a loud explosion thuds in the background.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2023
Through the open door came the thuds and occasional clangs of a horseshoe game, and now and then the sound of voices raised in approval or derision.
From "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck
With his seventh delivery of the day, the relentless Henry thudded the ball into Root's pad.
From BBC ● Jun. 21, 2026
Sixty-six-year-old Jose Pena hid in the bushes as two Ecuadoran military helicopters thudded overhead.
From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026
As Mesidor and Bain have thudded their way through the first two rounds of the playoff, Miami’s pass rush has reduced some of college football’s most explosive offenses to little more than firecrackers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
The theater literally thudded with the sound of high heels as attendees flooded out while Mohammed offered his own housekeeping notes, including a directive to “vacate in height order” in case of emergency.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2024
To his astonishment, Renn knocked an arrow and let fly, and a willow grouse thudded into the moss.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Williams had no problem approaching the devastating service speed of her glory days, thudding down one unreturnable delivery that reached 120mph late in the first set.
From Barron's ● Jun. 9, 2026
Local Facebook groups were flooded with complaints from Inuit hunters annoyed that the thudding helicopters scared away the reindeer from traditional hunting grounds.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026
In “1984,” Big Brother survives by wielding absolute power; freedom is flattened by the thudding steps of a goose-stepping soldier and by language that makes those steps seem necessary.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
Formed around a thudding, slow drum beat, the guitars build to a fully-formed crescendo of whirling tones and unrelenting bass hooks, similar to 1992's Cut.
From BBC ● Nov. 1, 2024
Claire started to pull her back down to the grass, and Maya fell to her knees, her bag thudding down heavily next to her.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
