thunderclap
Americannoun
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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
His chapters end with a wink as often as a thunderclap.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
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
That point would be marked by a gigantic thunderclap, after which Alvarez would haul his gangly frame into the tube to strip away the stalagmites and stalactites and buff the surface smooth.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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
The light rises and fades while faint thunderclaps can be heard — sounds that in fact are a slowed-down recording of clay being knocked out of brick molds, the artist explained.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 4, 2023
When it's all over but the crying there's no doubt we'll wish for more time with the Roys while appreciating that Armstrong and the cast are ending the show while its thunderclaps still shake us.
From Salon ● Mar. 26, 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
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.
