whump
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of whump
First recorded in 1925–30; imitative
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.
But what had that sound been, the whump?
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2025
“All cartoons rely on the unexpected twist, but Booth reveled in the haywire. There was always a joyous thump or a whump hovering around his work — often with a measure of vaudeville humor.”
From Washington Post ● Nov. 3, 2022
There was some craft in the way he went about dismembering the carcasses of the opposition's bowling attacks: whump, down came the cleaver, and off went the ball.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 22, 2013
Then a short, disturbing whistling noise signals a change, and whump: a grind of jaw-rattling guitar and drums throw in for the last two minutes.
From New York Times ● Aug. 8, 2010
The whump and whoosh of the furnace coming alive each morning.
From "Out of My Mind" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
