thunderclap
Americannoun
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thunderclaps
plural
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a crash of thunder.
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something resembling a thunderclap, as in loudness or unexpectedness.
noun
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a loud outburst of thunder
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something as violent or unexpected as a clap of thunder
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of thunderclap
First recorded in 1350–1400, thunderclap is from Middle English thonder clappe. See thunder, clap 1
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:
"On paper, this was another thunderclap quarter. And yet the stock dipped. The market is no longer pricing growth. It is pricing perpetuity."
From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026
He remains a thunderclap from the baseline, but has options other than ferocious groundstrokes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2025
We thought there would be a reaction but nobody could have foreseen this absolute thunderclap.
From BBC ● Jul. 26, 2025
The historic nature of that thunderclap moment wasn’t lost on the 34-year-old entrepreneur.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2024
Dalton shouts with a thunderclap like he’s the Incredible Hulk.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
His new setting is peaceful, aside from occasional thunderclaps rolling through the valley during the rainy season, and the wildlife.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
Howling desert winds set the tone of a high school hallway smackdown; a few scenes later, a bedroom fist fight climaxes with a clatter of bells, thunderclaps and an eagle screech.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
Sometimes storms seem to linger directly overhead, impervious to the wind’s whims, exploding every few seconds in thunderclaps and piercing, neon bolts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2023
Levels of suffering that once felt like thunderclaps now resemble a metronome's clicks — the background noise against which everyday life plays.
From Salon ● May 9, 2022
I tested every handhold for loose rocks and moved only in the thunderclaps of cannon fire as they echoed in the gorge.
From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri
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.
