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

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Etymology

Origin of thump

First recorded in 1530–40; imitative

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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

Everything has been designed and built in-house, using recycled materials to reduce costs and environmental impact, produced using 3D printers that thump away constantly in the background.

From Barron's ● Sep. 9, 2026

The opening game saw Gauff thump a 112mph ace down the middle, followed by an unreturned first serve and another ace, on her way to holding serve in less than 90 seconds.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026

During that stage, teams will directly measure the aircraft's supersonic flight signature to confirm that it is producing the quiet supersonic thump it was designed to generate.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026

With a resounding thump the whole pile—sled, dogs, gear, and me, upside down—plummeted into a heap in the bottom of what seemed to be a deep gully.

From "Woodsong" by Gary Paulsen

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 14, 2026

Orbs of yellow light wash over plates of juicy chicken inasal; longtime friends catch up over handpicked wines as music thumps in the background.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 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

And they’re attracted to rhythmic thumps on the surface, so the Fremen — people who live in the Arrakis desert — walk in strange, loping, arrhythmic steps to avoid accidental detection.

From New York Times ● Mar. 6, 2024

There were low, dull thumps on the door and Mark imagined Bruce’s people half out of their minds wanting to get through, beating on it in frustration.

From "The Kill Order (Maze Runner, Book Four; Origin)" by James Dashner

It was a magical night in Wisconsin—across Interstate 94 in Madison, the Badgers thumped USC.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 25, 2026

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

Its return of more than 1,000% since then is one reason the lowest-P/Eers thumped the market over that stretch.

From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026

It was only when eighty women were packed inside that the door thumped shut and we heard iron bolts driven into place.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

Tuesday's 4-0 thumping of Bromley followed the 2-1 win over Doncaster which dampened the external noise.

From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026

As exit polls put the Alternative for Germany's vote share at a thumping 44 percent, jubilant scenes erupted at a post-election party in Magdeburg, capital of the state of Saxony-Anhalt.

From Barron's ● Sep. 6, 2026

However, and as a direct consequence, the Turbo feels instantly familiar—the initial lightness of the open door, and balanced swing on its hinges, the thumping affirmation of triple-seal door closures.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

As Don Omar sings, the darbuka drum prominently plays in the song; when Hakim performs, he does so over a thumping dembow beat.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026

He didn’t go quite as high as he had before, and he spun around only halfway before thumping to the ground.

From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack

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