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)
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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
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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
As handled by Ms. Littman, it’s matter-of-fact, a fate that lands with a plain, inarguable thud, and devastating all the same.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026
Some might call the stalemate and the passion and the thud and blunder compelling, but you have low expectations if that's the case.
From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2026
Gingersnipes released the handles, dropping the wheelbarrow with a thud.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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
Mid-way through the audio, a loud explosion thuds in the background.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2023
My heart thuds to the beat of her applause.
From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton
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
Fernandes flicked a first-half free-kick off the crossbar and Amrabat's long-range effort thudded against the other one after the break.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2023
The inflation report thudded onto Wall Street along with a batch of other data painting a mixed picture of the economy.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2023
My heart thudded, stuttered, and then picked up again in double time.
From "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer
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
Moreno had more success in the third round, but Kavanagh regained control with more thudding leg kicks, before seeing out victory by defending a number of takedowns.
From BBC ● Mar. 1, 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
Boots tromped by outside the cage, heavy and thudding, as if the wights sought to punish the very ground they walked upon.
From "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs
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.
