thud
Americannoun
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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
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thudsimple
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thudssimple
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have thuddedperfect
-
has thuddedperfect
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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
The thud of fists walloping punching bags reverberates through the gym from morning until evening.
From Barron's ● Jun. 17, 2026
Passenger Jose Cervantes told an affiliate of the BBC's US partner CBS that he heard a thud and then "I just see the right wing just on fire and like, it's exploding".
From BBC ● May 9, 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
The creature was bewildered, and half flew and half plummeted downward, not close enough to the sail, landing with a thud on the wood of the boat.
From "Impossible Creatures" by Katherine Rundell
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
Headbangers, hipsters, all languages, all ages — every demographic on Earth appears to adore his music — and so do we from the opening thuds that introduce us to his echoey, body-moving beats.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2025
Since arriving, we've been hearing soft thuds and knocks from that side of the building.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2024
We could hear the rhythmic thuds of the students practicing their petit jetés and changements.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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
There were gasps from the crowd as the ball either thudded into a Glamorgan batter or the gloves of Kent keeper Steve Marsh.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2025
On the losing end was Delta Air Lines, which sank 3.5% after it gave a forecast that thudded onto Wall Street.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 15, 2023
Flora’s heart thudded once and then dropped all the way down to her toes.
From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo
She said she hadn’t contacted authorities, but the vultures have been a nuisance, thudding on her roof, bouncing on her children’s trampoline and popping their toy balls.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 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
Neo-soul lyrics call out a toxic man as a thudding baseline hits.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2025
I take a few deep breaths, a pointless attempt to slow my thudding heart, as Camille leads me to the parking lot.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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.
