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
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.
"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
A local resident told Yonhap that he had been watching television at home when the explosion, which sounded "like a thunderclap", shook the house.
From BBC • Mar. 6, 2025
The historic nature of that thunderclap moment wasn’t lost on the 34-year-old entrepreneur.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2024
I seemed to be less shocked by it now than I had the first time last August, when it had broken over our heads like a thunderclap in a flawless sky.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
