- present participle of throb.
throbbing
Americanadjective
-
beating or pulsing rapidly or forcefully, as the heart under the influence of emotion or excitement.
One may use a sweet, patient tone and words, but the throbbing vein in the temple betrays one’s anger.
-
feeling or exhibiting strong emotion or passion.
As he spoke to the students crashing the climate convention, he was clearly thrilled to be there in that throbbing mass of youthful exuberance.
-
pulsating or vibrating regularly.
The throbbing sound was now at full volume, and it was indeed drums—deep, heavy goatskin drums.
-
being or feeling pain that occurs in rhythmic waves or bursts.
A sinus infection often results in a throbbing headache.
He pounded on the closed door, but with no effect apart from a throbbing fist.
-
full of or characterized by lively energy.
This throbbing metropolis is also the world capital of salsa.
noun
-
throbbings
plural
-
the act of beating fast or forcefully, pulsating or vibrating, or occurring in rhythmic waves.
The pain in his shoulder had subsided to a dull throbbing.
Astronomers have measured the throbbing of a sun-like star 24 light-years away.
-
the act or fact of feeling or exhibiting strong emotion or passion.
The throbbing of my rage was so powerful that the ground trembled.
-
lively energy.
Feel the throbbing of the world’s cultures at the annual international festival this weekend!
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of throbbing
First recorded in 1400–50; throb ( def. ) + -ing 2 ( def. ) for the adjective senses; throb ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. ) for the noun senses
Explanation
If something's pulsing like a heartbeat, it's throbbing. When you stop and catch your breath after a long run, you might hear your throbbing pulse in your ears. An injury that's throbbing with pain pounds with regular beats: "I have a throbbing headache." Music is often described as throbbing too, beating and pounding with deep bass notes from a club or a car — or maybe your ceiling is vibrating with the throbbing music your upstairs neighbors are playing. To throb is to pulsate, and experts guess the word itself stems from the sound and feeling of pulsating blood.
Vocabulary lists containing throbbing
Kindred
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"The War Works Hard" by Dunya Mikhail
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Neighborhood Odes
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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:
That moment came in 2008, with a crash and a long, throbbing hangover.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 25, 2026
A couple of years ago, a falling durian landed on his shoulder, leaving him with a throbbing pain that acts up now and then.
From BBC ● Jan. 10, 2026
She told me I may see her third eye throbbing there when she entered her trance.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025
On the second track, “Bumpy,” what sounds like a sonic rendering of an exploding box of crayons leads to a throbbing pulse that could be a sentient computer’s ticking heart.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 18, 2025
The throbbing was also getting louder, and Alex could feel a rush of cool air streaming down toward him.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
It was her head that was full of throbbings and pulses, not her heart.
From Phoebe, Junior by Oliphant, Mrs. (Margaret)
And its booming notes descended to subsonic throbbings that gripped and wrung the nerves to anguish.
From The Record of Currupira by Abernathy, Robert
Yet, when the tyrant strives with outrage rude The unyielding maid in darkness to enclose, Then, only then, her burning heart outflows In anguished cries of love, but unsubdued By baser throbbings.
From Literary Tours in The Highlands and Islands of Scotland by Holmes, Daniel Turner
No, not forgotten; else the faithful beating Of heart to genial heart, that beat again, Were turned to throbbings; and each pulse repeating But the sad echoings of pain to pain.
From Graham's Magazine, Vol. XXXII No. 4, April 1848 by Conrad, Robert Taylor
There something of the energy that creates that endless panorama is comprehended; all the deep throbbings of the mighty river's pulses are felt; all the magnificence is seen.
From The Comstock Club by Goodwin, Charles Carroll
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.
