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Synonyms

clonk

American  
[klongk, klawngk] / klɒŋk, klɔŋk /

noun

  1. a low, dull sound of impact, as of a heavy object striking against another.

verb (used with or without object)

  1. to make or cause to make such a sound.

clonk British  
/ klɒŋk /

verb

  1. (intr) to make a loud dull thud

  2. informal (tr) to hit

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. a loud thudding sound

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of clonk

First recorded in 1925–30; imitative

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.

He might have been unsettled by a relatively slow start of 11 from 19 deliveries, or rattled by a clonk on the head from Alzarri Joseph.

From BBC • May 29, 2025

Robbie picked up another toy and — clonk — hit his father with the toss.

From Washington Post • Dec. 31, 2020

You half expect it to be accompanied by a few sound effects: a clonk here, a parp there.

From The Guardian • Aug. 14, 2019

His words were punctuated by the clonk of the bamboo shishi-odoshi in the garden, which filled up with water then tipped and emptied, falling back against its rock.

From The New Yorker • Jul. 2, 2012

They disappeared inside, pulling it shut behind them with a loud clonk.

From "The Maze Runner" by James Dashner

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.