thud

American  

[thuhd] / θʌd /

noun

• thuds
  plural

1. a dull sound, as of a heavy blow or fall.

2. a blow causing such a sound.

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verb (used without object)

• thuds,
  present (3rd person singular)
• thudded,
  past participle,  past
• thudding
  present participle

1. to strike or fall with a dull sound of heavy impact.

thud British  

/ θʌd /

noun

1. a dull heavy sound

   the book fell to the ground with a thud

2. a blow or fall that causes such a sound

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verb

1. to make or cause to make such a sound

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• thuddingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• thuds
  plural

Participles

• thudding
  present
• thudded
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• thud
  simple
• thuds
  simple
• have thudded
  perfect
• has thudded
  perfect
• am thudding
  progressive
• are thudding
  progressive
• is thudding
  progressive
• have been thudding
  perfect progressive
• has been thudding
  perfect progressive

Past

• thudded
  simple
• had thudded
  perfect
• was thudding
  progressive
• were thudding
  progressive
• had been thudding
  perfect progressive

Future

• will thud
  simple
• will have thudded
  perfect
• will be thudding
  progressive
• will have been thudding
  perfect progressive

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thud thuds thudded thudding

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

The prison through which he is escorted is a maze of many gates, rusted metal barriers to movement that echo, with every thud and clank, the stymied processes of Soviet justice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 19, 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

He knew he slept with one ear cocked for the pell-mell thud of feet overhead, and the cry, “All hands on deck!”

From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham

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

Then we hear the rotary thuds of a Unifil helicopter, patrolling the line.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2023

Bell chattered on, but Powell kept pounding up the stairs slowly, his boots striking the steps with dull thuds that echoed to the floors above.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Sixty-six-year-old Jose Pena hid in the bushes as two Ecuadoran military helicopters thudded overhead.

From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026

Inside the Principality, the noise was deafening, The head thudded, the ears split.

From BBC ● Feb. 21, 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

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

Flora’s heart thudded again, a different kind of thud.

From "Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures" by Kate DiCamillo

Hrgovic came out with renewed purpose in the ninth and landed a thudding right which sent Itauma staggering backwards, almost through the ropes.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 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

Local Facebook groups were flooded with complaints from Inuit hunters annoyed that the thudding helicopters scared away the reindeer from traditional hunting grounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 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

He heard the “tramp, tramp” of the sentry and the thudding of the pikestaff as it struck the stone when the sentry turned at the wall of the house.

From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli

Related Words

• bang
• thump