thud
Americannoun
-
a dull sound, as of a heavy blow or fall.
-
a blow causing such a sound.
verb (used without object)
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 a hammering Hulksmash rattles our seats; later, a cocked rifle is so crisp we perk up like a dog hearing the mailman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026
Many solid aerospace and defense earnings landed with a thud, with investors worried about the sector outlook amid rising energy prices.
From Barron's ● May 4, 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
She never even got to clunk and thud her way through any farmhouses or laboratories like a bewigged bull in a china shop.
From Salon ● Mar. 8, 2026
A dull thud and Uhmma’s scream halts my prayers.
From "A Step from Heaven" by An Na
"We've heard four or five additional thuds where something must have happened," said Henry.
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2026
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
Mornings inside the nunnery are filled with the thuds of heavy footsteps and the clanking of swords as the nuns train under Ms. Lhamo’s tutelage.
From New York Times ● Feb. 26, 2023
There was such terrific noise following Paganini’s show that at first no one noticed the persistent banging on the ceiling, dull thuds that came in short spurts before starting again.
From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser
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
Tee shots were thudded into the big screen from a distance of 35 yards with the action switching to the short-game complex once the ball was within 50 yards of the hole.
From BBC ● Jan. 8, 2025
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
His heart thudded, because there was a picture of his own mother.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
A thudding kick drum and a mournful sax set up “I’ll Play the Fool” before a rubbery rumba beat and swing band take over.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 15, 2026
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
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
As chants of "There's only one Dave Allen" rang around the venue, the home fighter had to bite down on his gumshield early on and take thudding blows from Makhmudov.
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2025
It was loud and thudding, as though someone were knocking from inside the earth.
From "Tasting the Sky" by Ibtisam Barakat
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.
