thunk

¹ American  

[thuhngk] / θʌŋk /

noun

1. an abrupt, dull sound.

   the thunk of a shutting window.

---

verb (used without object)

1. to make such a sound.

   The window thunked shut.

thunk ² American  

[thuhngk] / θʌŋk /

verb

Nonstandard.

1. a simple past tense and past participle of think.

---

thunk British  

/ θʌŋk /

noun

1. informal another word for thud

---

Etymology

Origin of thunk

1945–50; blend of thud and clunk

Explanation

A thunk is a loud, deep sound, like the thunk your head makes against your desk when you fall asleep in math class. Again. The informal, imitative thunk is a good word for the hollow thudding sound of something heavy making a dull impact. You can talk about the thunk of a door closing or the the thunk your heavy book makes when it falls to the floor. A second informal meaning of thunk is the humorous past tense of think: "Who'd've thunk I'd catch a fish with a piece of cheese and some dental floss?"

Example Sentences

I came to love the satisfying thunk of the cleaver hitting the cutting board.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 23, 2025

“Who would have thunk it would be so simple? It was a fluke,” Harris, now 79, told The Times in a recent interview.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 21, 2024

Not twigs, mind you, but big, heavy limbs that would fall straight down with a thunk and a shoosh of dead leaves onto my front lawn.

From Scientific American • Sep. 8, 2023

And who would've thunk that at the time?

From Salon • May 16, 2023

Behind them, row after row of spikes shot toward the ceiling with a persistent thunk, thunk, thunk.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan