thump

American  

[thuhmp] / θʌmp /

noun

• thumps
  plural

1. a blow with something thick and heavy, producing a dull sound; a heavy knock.

2. the sound made by or as if by such a blow.

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verb (used with object)

• thumps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• thumped,
  past participle,  past
• thumping
  present participle

1. to strike or beat with something thick and heavy, so as to produce a dull sound; pound.

2. (of an object) to strike against (something) heavily and noisily.

3. Informal. to thrash severely.

verb (used without object)

• thumps,
  present (3rd person singular)
• thumped,
  past participle,  past
• thumping
  present participle

1. to strike, beat, or fall heavily, with a dull sound.

2. to walk with heavy steps; pound.

3. to palpitate or beat violently, as the heart.

thump British  

/ θʌmp /

noun

1. the sound of a heavy solid body hitting or pounding a comparatively soft surface

2. a heavy blow with the hand

   he gave me a thump on the back

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verb

1. (tr) to strike or beat heavily; pound

2. (intr) to throb, beat, or pound violently

   his heart thumped with excitement

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• thumper
  noun
• unthumped
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• thumps
  plural

Participles

• thumping
  present
• thumped
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• thump
  simple
• thumps
  simple
• have thumped
  perfect
• has thumped
  perfect
• am thumping
  progressive
• are thumping
  progressive
• is thumping
  progressive
• have been thumping
  perfect progressive
• has been thumping
  perfect progressive

Past

• thumped
  simple
• had thumped
  perfect
• was thumping
  progressive
• were thumping
  progressive
• had been thumping
  perfect progressive

Future

• will thump
  simple
• will have thumped
  perfect
• will be thumping
  progressive
• will have been thumping
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of thump

First recorded in 1530–40; imitative

Explanation

A thump is a hard, thudding sound, or an equally hard hit or blow, like the thump your older brother gives you when you embarrass him in front of his friends. If you drop your backpack full of books it'll make a thump as it hits the floor. And, if your friend starts to choke on his lemonade at lunch, you might want to give him a thump on the back. You can also thump enthusiastically on a drum. Thump is an imitative word, one that mimics the sound of hitting something heavily. It dates from the sixteenth century.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

thump thumps thumped thumping

“When the males interact with each other, you hear the thump thump thump of their paws.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

The grass particularly often suits tall 'servebots', who are able to thump down aces and unreturnable first shots, but Fery has other tools to hurt his opponents.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

During those future flights, researchers will gather public feedback about the aircraft's quieter sonic "thump" and evaluate how people respond to it.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026

Moments later, a bass thump sounded in the distance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 2026

Babulya shut the bedroom door, the thump of the latch driving the story into Anya’s chest.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

Alcaraz turns around and thumps Sinner at the U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026

Israeli director Nadav Lapid’s audacious and dazzling “Yes” thumps with dance music and the sound of people bouncing off the walls to distract themselves from pain.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2025

During the 31-song album, some of it lands like the fun drama of "Down Bad," which thumps against Antonoff's synthesizer.

From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2024

Three men of the 1st Special Purpose Bohun Brigade climb into an armoured Humvee, as the sound of artillery thumps ahead in the distance.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2023

She stands, thumps Sneaky on the head, and walks out of the kitchen with her food.

From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist

And Yamal hasn’t found the net since Spain thumped Saudi Arabia 4-0 in its second game.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

But it thumped New Zealand 4-0 in one of its final World Cup tuneups and lost to three other World Cup qualifiers — the U.S.,

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026

"It feels like being thumped in the chest," says Prof Aneil Malhotra, sports cardiologist at the Institute of Sport, Manchester Metropolitan University.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

As the sun faded, the square thumped with screams of the crowd.

From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2026

A mad organist thumped my panic chords. “...if you’d like to.”

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell

Derek McInnes earned his first win as boss with a thumping 5-1 victory on Sunday and will now host Celtic.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

Although the stock recovered later, it still ended the day with another thumping 10% loss.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 6, 2026

As the quiet counterparts to ocean liners, river cruises offer a world of classical pianists over thumping bass, Gothic palaces over Bahamian private islands, and fine Barolo instead of margaritas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Its 2020 debut album, “PDE,” experimented more with the prickly, sad sierreño sound popularized by acts like Eslabon Armado and DannyLux — as well as trap-infused corridos tumbados with a thumping tololoche.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

“I know, I know,” Akira told him, her heart thumping.

From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz

Related Words

• thud