throb
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
-
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
-
(of engines, drums, etc) to have a strong rhythmic vibration or beat
noun
Related Words
See pulsate.
Other Word Forms
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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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.
The braggadocious “Helicopter” has a piercing throb like a car alarm, while “Stole Ya Flow”—a diss track apparently addressed to Drake—has a curling and distorted drone winding through it, a rattlesnake-like warning.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 20, 2026
And so the throb of pain continues to course through her.
From BBC • May 7, 2025
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
It opens with a subterranean bass throb and a declaration of vulnerability in “Nothing Left to Lose,” as Thorn sings, “I need a thicker skin/This pain keeps getting in.”
From New York Times • Mar. 24, 2023
Everything made to ache and splinter and seek and throb by the loss of our parents, our homes, our words, our Elder and our RiRi, our safety.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
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.
