thunder
Americannoun
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a loud, explosive, resounding noise produced by the explosive expansion of air heated by a lightning discharge.
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any loud, resounding noise.
the thunder of applause.
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a threatening or startling utterance, denunciation, or the like.
verb (used without object)
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to give forth thunder (often used impersonally with it as the subject).
It thundered last night.
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to make a loud, resounding noise like thunder.
The artillery thundered in the hills.
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to utter loud or vehement denunciations, threats, or the like.
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to speak in a very loud tone.
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to move or go with a loud noise or violent action.
The train thundered through the village.
verb (used with object)
idioms
noun
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a loud cracking or deep rumbling noise caused by the rapid expansion of atmospheric gases which are suddenly heated by lightning
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any loud booming sound
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rare a violent threat or denunciation
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to detract from the attention due to another by forestalling him or her
verb
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to make (a loud sound) or utter (words) in a manner suggesting thunder
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(intr; with it as subject) to be the case that thunder is being heard
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(intr) to move fast and heavily
the bus thundered downhill
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(intr) to utter vehement threats or denunciation; rail
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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.
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See Note at lightning
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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thundersimple
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thunderssimple
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have thunderedperfect
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has thunderedperfect
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am thunderingprogressive
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are thunderingprogressive
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is thunderingprogressive
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have been thunderingperfect progressive
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has been thunderingperfect progressive
Past
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thunderedsimple
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had thunderedperfect
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was thunderingprogressive
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were thunderingprogressive
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had been thunderingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of thunder
before 900; (noun) Middle English thonder, thunder, Old English thunor; cognate with Dutch donder, German Donner; Old Norse thōrr Thor, literally, thunder; (v.) Middle English thondren, Old English thunrian, derivative of the v.; akin to Latin tonāre to thunder
Explanation
Thunder is the loud noise that comes right after lightning. It also can refer to a loud, booming sound, or mean to move heavily but quickly. Thunder is made up of the rumbles and cracks accompanying lightning during a thunderstorm. You can also use this word for other loud noises, like the thunder of a loud rock band or your uncle's booming voice. A powerful singer can be said to thunder, singing in a way that's as noisy and impressive as a thunderstorm. Thunder can also be used for big, fast movements, like a tank thundering across a field or a truck thundering down the highway.
Vocabulary lists containing thunder
Physical Geography - Introductory
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Physical Geography - Middle School
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Physical Geography - High School
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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:
They saw messages from the divine in thunder and lightning, bird flight and the entrails of sacrificed animals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
Crowds braved record heat to attend US President Donald Trump's grand July Fourth celebrations in Washington Saturday, until sharp winds, thunder and lightning prompted evacuations and the scene descended into chaos, anger and confusion.
From Barron's ● Jul. 5, 2026
But the top note, the sauce, is the silence enveloping it all, peppered by the thunder of a squall just outside.
From Salon ● Jun. 28, 2026
Just before the Scotland news conference at their palatial Charlotte base camp, three Norwegian reporters fetched up in search of Scottish retaliatory thunder.
From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026
It was the thunder before the skies opened to wash our old lives away.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
He’s quick to slide his board into one of the glassy tubes, gliding out before the wave thunders down onto the reef, a monstrous spray of lapping white froth raining down behind him.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 19, 2024
"I wanted to come and imagine where each of them was sitting," she explained, gesturing to different points on the ground as traffic thunders by.
From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2024
“America, you are too arrogant,” he thunders, overcoming his inner censor.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2023
Which creature could be found “below the thunders of the upper deep,” according to a poem by Alfred, Lord Tennyson?
From Slate ● Jun. 12, 2023
“May I speak to you?” thunders an officer.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
When CNN co-moderator Elex Michaelson asked Villaraigosa if he would cancel California’s much-maligned high-speed rail project, the candidate’s emphatic “No” thundered down like a Lebron James dunk.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 6, 2026
"Where is the money?" supporters of Magyar's party, Tisza, thundered in unison, referring to accusations against local Fidesz politicians over millions of euros of public funds that have gone missing.
From Barron's ● Apr. 10, 2026
“A month of bombing has achieved nothing,” its cover thundered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 30, 2026
As the sweeping “O Fortuna” movement of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana thundered over the loudspeakers, he rose from underneath the stage while sitting on a badass, none-more-black throne decorated with skulls and a gigantic bat.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2025
It stung her eyes, went up her nose, filled her throat, thundered in her ears, and covered every inch of her skin.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
“It was raining straight down, it was thundering and it was 27 degrees,” he said, recalling watching the storm early Sunday morning.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 27, 2026
This city may be small, but in 1926 it became immortal, the place where a fiesta, thundering hooves, and a novel collided to shape modern legend.
From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2025
Richael Keller has always been sensitive to loud commercials, but when thundering streaming-service ads disturbed her sleeping newborn, her reaction was heated enough to blaze a path to the California state Capitol.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2025
Playing 12, Farrell had a lovely pass to White in the build-up to the try finished off by the thundering Cummings.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2025
Then, all of a sudden, they were hovering over the shimmering moon’s reflection, waves thundering around them.
From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older
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.
