thunder
a loud, explosive, resounding noise produced by the explosive expansion of air heated by a lightning discharge.
any loud, resounding noise: the thunder of applause.
a threatening or startling utterance, denunciation, or the like.
to give forth thunder (often used impersonally with it as the subject): It thundered last night.
to make a loud, resounding noise like thunder: The artillery thundered in the hills.
to utter loud or vehement denunciations, threats, or the like.
to speak in a very loud tone.
to move or go with a loud noise or violent action: The train thundered through the village.
to strike, drive, inflict, give forth, etc., with loud noise or violent action.
Idioms about thunder
steal someone's thunder,
to use for one's own purposes and without the knowledge or permission of the originator the inventions or ideas of another.
to ruin or detract from the effect of a performance, remark, etc., by anticipating it.
Origin of thunder
1Other words from thunder
- thun·der·er, noun
- thun·der·less, adjective
- outthunder, verb (used with object)
Words Nearby thunder
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use thunder in a sentence
The seismometer has even been known to pick up the faint thunder of dust devils whirling across the cold desert world.
Rumbles on Mars Raise Hopes of Underground Magma Flows | Robin George Andrews | February 1, 2021 | Quanta MagazineHe’d worried that if crews slowed the Catalan fires, they might cause it to form a pyrocumulonimbus—a violent cloud of fire, thunder, and wind like the one that formed over the Creek Fire.
What the complex math of fire modeling tells us about the future of California’s forests | Amy Nordrum | January 18, 2021 | MIT Technology ReviewSure, Hulk is strong, Thor can control thunder and Captain Marvel can fly and shoot energy beams.
Everything You Need to Know Before Watching WandaVision | Eliana Dockterman | January 14, 2021 | TimeAs for the possibility of thunderstorms, we cannot rule out some rumbles of thunder in the heavier rain cells.
Heavy rain and isolated flooding forecast for Washington region Wednesday into Thursday | Jeffrey Halverson, Jason Samenow | November 10, 2020 | Washington PostUnfortunately, rains arrive tomorrow and could be heavy at times with even a rumble or two of thunder.
D.C.-area forecast: Another day of nice, warm weather before rain returns | Matt Rogers | November 10, 2020 | Washington Post
I inherited the Arnold Family thunder ThighsTM, which was a source of frequent teasing and distress for me as a child.
Watch your back Liam Neeson, here comes Kevin Costner to steal your older-leading-man thunder!
The Biggest Bombs of 2014: ‘Sex Tape,’ Mariah Carey’s Vocals, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and More | Kevin Fallon | December 19, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTZilch, what with Showtime's other steamy sex-heavy drama, The Affair, stealing its thunder.
15 Enraging Golden Globe TV Snubs and Surprises: Amy Poehler, 'Mad Men' & More | Kevin Fallon | December 11, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd the second I arrived and did my last step, there was thunder and rain pouring.
Philippe Petit’s Moment of Concern Walking the WTC Tightrope | Anthony Haden-Guest | August 8, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAnd then the flares light up the sky and the building begins to shake from the deadly thunder of Protective Edge.
Israel’s Campaign to Send Gaza Back to the Stone Age | Jesse Rosenfeld | July 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe riches of the unjust shall be dried up like a river, and shall pass away with a noise like a great thunder in rain.
The Bible, Douay-Rheims Version | VariousThe tops of the hills were laden with thunder-clouds, and the turbid atmosphere laboured with the stifling Sirocco.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterThe menace of a thunder-cloud approached as in his childhood's dream; disaster lurked behind the quiet outer show.
The Wave | Algernon BlackwoodOne day the hopes of all were aroused by a distant roar in the mountains, only to be dashed by finding it to be thunder.
Napoleon's Marshals | R. P. Dunn-PattisonIt was a few days after the bursting of this domestic thunder-cloud, that Gilbert and Dorothy were thrown alone together.
The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie
British Dictionary definitions for thunder
/ (ˈθʌndə) /
a loud cracking or deep rumbling noise caused by the rapid expansion of atmospheric gases which are suddenly heated by lightning
any loud booming sound
rare a violent threat or denunciation
steal someone's thunder to detract from the attention due to another by forestalling him or her
to make (a loud sound) or utter (words) in a manner suggesting thunder
(intr; with it as subject) to be the case that thunder is being heard
(intr) to move fast and heavily: the bus thundered downhill
(intr) to utter vehement threats or denunciation; rail
Origin of thunder
1Derived forms of thunder
- thunderer, noun
- thundery, adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Scientific definitions for thunder
[ thŭn′dər ]
The explosive noise that accompanies a stroke of lightning. Thunder is a series of sound waves produced by the rapid expansion of the air through which the lightning passes. Sound travels about 1 km in 3 seconds (about 1 mi in 5 seconds). The distance between an observer and a lightning flash can be calculated by counting the number of seconds between the flash and the thunder. See Note at lightning.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for thunder
The noise created when air rushes back into a region from which it has been expelled by the passage of lightning.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with thunder
see under steal someone's thunder.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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