thunderclap
Americannoun
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a crash of thunder.
-
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
The producers of which had the good sense to stream worldwide for all of us outside the nation’s capital who wanted to experience the thunderclap of Page’s Lear.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 17, 2026
He remains a thunderclap from the baseline, but has options other than ferocious groundstrokes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2025
The sound, often described as an explosion or thunderclap, can be heard over a large area because it moves with the plane, similar to the wake of a boat spreading out behind a vessel.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2025
As he ran, flinching at every thunderclap, he began to feel guilty about sneaking away from the house.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
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
From footsteps to thunderclaps, little is heard on set other than the actors’ dialogue.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2023
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
Some share their seismograms of thunderclaps, powerlifting workouts and neighborhood construction with the hashtag #WhatsTheWiggle, while others follow the everyday vibrations of loved ones far away.
From New York Times ● Jan. 11, 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.
