throb
Americanverb (used without object)
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throbs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
throbbed,
past participle, past
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throbbing
present participle
noun
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throbs
plural
-
the act of throbbing.
-
a violent beat or pulsation, as of the heart.
-
any pulsation or vibration.
the throb of engines.
verb
-
to pulsate or beat repeatedly, esp with increased force
to throb with pain
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(of engines, drums, etc) to have a strong rhythmic vibration or beat
noun
Synonym Usage
See pulsate.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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throbsimple
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throbssimple
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have throbbedperfect
-
has throbbedperfect
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am throbbingprogressive
-
are throbbingprogressive
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is throbbingprogressive
-
have been throbbingperfect progressive
-
has been throbbingperfect progressive
Past
-
throbbedsimple
-
had throbbedperfect
-
was throbbingprogressive
-
were throbbingprogressive
-
had been throbbingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of throb
First recorded in 1325–75; unattested Middle English throbben, implied in present participle throbbant “throbbing”; further origin unknown
Explanation
Things that throb have a strong, regular pulse or rhythm. Loud music with a heavy beat or bass line can seem to throb inside your head — especially if your downstairs neighbors are playing it while you're trying to sleep. Your heartbeat throbs especially fast when you're upset or just after you've been running, and something painful can throb too, like the ache of a stubbed toe. No one's exactly sure where the word throb comes from — most experts guess that it originated as a representation of the sound and feeling of your pulse.
Vocabulary lists containing throb
That Hurts! Synonyms for "Pain"
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Dear Martin
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"Sympathy" by Paul Laurence Dunbar
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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:
They are deep enough to create a distant shore of the imagination, where readers can live as castaways from cable news, TikTok and the dull throb of the ordinary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Emma was about 11 when her legs started to feel heavy and throb and said they started to grow bigger.
From BBC ● Feb. 18, 2025
In the often exquisite score, the strings throb and the woodwinds flutter.
From New York Times ● May 6, 2024
Your eyes might begin to water, your head to throb and headlines in today’s newspapers to overwhelm your thoughts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
As more time passed, my head started to throb.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
The production, co-created and directed by Moisés Kaufman, throbs with lip-synchable pop hits of such eclectic range that the dance club energy eventually ensnares everybody.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2024
Such waves can be detected in the way the star’s light pulses and throbs.
From Science Magazine ● Dec. 13, 2023
My heart throbs in my jaw: so close.
From Slate ● Apr. 29, 2023
Its story is told through its throbs of tumult, daunting hurdles, spirited triumphs and terrible tragedies.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 12, 2022
In the rice paddy, my head throbs and it’s difficult to focus on the task at hand.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
The songs – Thunder Road, Jungleland, Born To Run – throbbed with longing, as his characters fought to escape the confines of small-town, blue collar American life.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2024
Guitars wailed and drums throbbed behind her as part of a set with her bandmates during a recent show.
From Seattle Times ● May 19, 2024
He was heartened, though, knowing the Hurricanes had beaten the Rangers, 3-1, even if his mouth throbbed.
From New York Times ● May 27, 2022
“Get Back” throbbed with the pent-up energy of both the Beatles in Jackson’s doc and McCartney and his guys after an unwelcome break from the road.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 14, 2022
I did my best to provide answers, but my head throbbed, and the fluorescent overhead lights buzzed, bright and sickly.
From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson
But still, when I speak to him afterwards, his heavily bandaged leg throbbing, he is determined.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
So what to do about your underwhelming past lovers, your Pisces Venusian yearning, your throbbing heart, your efforts to prepare yourself to love from the most whole place you possibly can?
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
He is a throbbing mass of malevolence, turned up — to reference Reiner’s “This Is Spinal Tap” — to 11.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 17, 2025
Following the Maytals’ 1968 hit “Do the Reggay,” with its choppy beat, steady rhythm guitar, throbbing bass and wailing horns, Mr. Cliff wrote songs that expressed social and personal themes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 24, 2025
Torak curled into a ball, cradling his throbbing arm and thinking bitterly what a mess he’d made of things.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
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.
