rumble
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
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to give forth or utter with a rumbling sound.
to rumble a command.
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to cause to make or move with a rumbling sound.
to rumble a wagon over the ground.
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to subject to the action of a rumble or tumbling box, as for the purpose of polishing.
noun
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a deep, heavy, somewhat muffled, continuous sound.
the rumble of tanks across a bridge.
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a rear part of a carriage containing seating accommodations, as for servants, or space for baggage.
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a tumbling box.
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Slang. a street fight between rival teenage gangs.
verb
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to make or cause to make a deep resonant sound
thunder rumbled in the sky
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to move with such a sound
the train rumbled along
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(tr) to utter with a rumbling sound
he rumbled an order
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(tr) to tumble (metal components, gemstones, etc) in a barrel of smooth stone in order to polish them
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informal (tr) to find out about (someone or something); discover (something)
the police rumbled their plans
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slang (intr) to be involved in a gang fight
noun
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a deep resonant sound
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a widespread murmur of discontent
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another name for tumbler
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slang a gang fight
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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rumblesimple
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rumblessimple
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have rumbledperfect
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has rumbledperfect
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am rumblingprogressive
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are rumblingprogressive
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is rumblingprogressive
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have been rumblingperfect progressive
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has been rumblingperfect progressive
Past
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rumbledsimple
-
had rumbledperfect
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was rumblingprogressive
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were rumblingprogressive
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had been rumblingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of rumble
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English verb romblen, rumblen; compare Dutch rommelen, probably imitative of the sound; 1940–45 rumble for def. 3
Explanation
Are you ready to rumble? To rumble is to throw down, or fight. If you hear a truck rumble down your street, don’t put up your dukes — to rumble also means to make a low, deep sound. Thunder rumbles just before you see lightning flash, and dogs sometimes rumble a low warning growl when they see someone unfamiliar. As a noun, rumble can mean "a low sound," “a seat in the back of a carriage” (the rumble seat) or " a street fight." It's a little old fashioned today to call a gang brawl a rumble, but if you've ever seen the movie "West Side Story," you've seen the rumble between the Jets and the Sharks.
Vocabulary lists containing rumble
The Outsiders
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Game Changer
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"A Contest of Riddles"
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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:
Some of the damaged buildings groaned with each new rumble of the earth, as Venezuela endured more aftershocks.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
Students pass the hostel on their way to lectures as aeroplanes rumble overhead every few minutes.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
The plant’s low rumble reverberated across the surrounding desert, unusually green from a recent rain.
From Salon ● May 10, 2026
The morning started with a rumble when a magnitude 3.4 earthquake hit 10 miles from Cabazon at 8:44 a.m.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 27, 2026
The sound of children laughing drifts out of open windows, and the rumble of the city is dampened by leafy trees and manicured hedges.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
As the first-quarter earnings season rumbles on, those lofty expectations have looked justified so far: The pace of earnings growth reported by firms so far has dramatically surpassed analysts’ expectations.
From MarketWatch ● May 3, 2026
However, Fawad Razaqzada at Forex.com warned that traders might begin to rethink their positions the longer the conflict rumbles on.
From Barron's ● Mar. 18, 2026
It rumbles into the end zone on a quarterback keeper.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
The forest rumbles with so much energy that it sounds like living next to a freeway.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 25, 2025
Stone-colored clouds hang overhead as thunder rumbles in the distance.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
The new measures, announced by China’s commerce ministry on Monday, show Beijing isn’t backing down in a dispute that has rumbled on for months.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026
They rumbled through like a runaway train, dominating with 55 runs over four losers’-bracket wins.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026
The vehicle rumbled into the sky, generating a huge plume on the ground and a powerful wave of noise, according to a SpaceX livestream.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
"Markets pulled back across Europe as the waiting game to end the Iran war rumbled on," said Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell.
From Barron's ● May 21, 2026
The Palmers leaned forward in their seats, with their hands on their heads, while the earth pitched and rumbled and shook.
From "Earthquake Terror" by Peg Kehret
We barely notice the beginning of the performance—a low, rumbling drone accompanies our arrival in the theater, and the actual music begins before the lights fully dim.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
The plant houses 14 rumbling pumps in two football-field sized wings and is one of the most powerful water lifting systems in the world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 20, 2026
Thousands of metres beneath the ground, amid suffocating heat, lies one of the keys to Poland's rumbling mining sector -- and the world economy.
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
Royal scandals increase the glare on issues rumbling beneath the surface.
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2026
Why should pizzas be on the way when she already had a refrigerator bursting with food and the boy had gone to school so many days with his stomach rumbling, his head aching?
From "Not Nothing" by Gayle Forman
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.
