as in thump
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
the thud of his head against the cabinet door brought tears to his eyes
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in to bump
to come into usually forceful contact with something
the snowball thudded against the side of my car
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of thud
Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Mar. 2026
Scream 4 landed with a thud upon release, but history has rescued its reputation among die-hards.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Mar. 2026
Barry Svrluga, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2026
The latest version kicks off with a moody set piece before a gun shot and thudding drums make way for a beat that sounds like a drowning beeper.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thud
Noun
The room fills with the sound of meditative thuds against caribou skin drums and the haunting, throaty vocals of several Tasiilaq men and women.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Mar. 2026
Scream 4 landed with a thud upon release, but history has rescued its reputation among die-hards.
—Declan Gallagher, Entertainment Weekly, 3 Mar. 2026
Verb
Each must traverse more than a mile-and-a-half of terrain, through a canyon, into shadows and out, over rolls that hurl the body half a football field through the air before thudding it back down again.
—Barry Svrluga, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2026
The latest version kicks off with a moody set piece before a gun shot and thudding drums make way for a beat that sounds like a drowning beeper.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for thud
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thud
Noun
-
Moments later, a bass thump sounded in the distance.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The experimental jet, part of NASA’s Quesst mission, is designed to fly faster than the speed of sound while producing only a soft sonic thump instead of a disruptive boom.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
Then Buttered Popcorn dethroned it in 1998, bumping the cherry classic from its perch.—
Samantha Agate,
Miami Herald,
1 Apr. 2026
-
In practice, though, the list is largely made up of people who bump into each other at the Century Association or the Center for Architecture; even firms that originated abroad, like Snøhetta (Norway) and BIG (Denmark), have essentially become local.—
Justin Davidson,
Curbed,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
In a blow to the fledgling environmental movement, however, a report by Nixon’s science adviser, Lee DuBridge, called for more drilling, not less.—
Jeffrey Marlow,
New Yorker,
5 Apr. 2026
-
The blow came after the right-hander threw a four-seam fastball that nearly hit Trout’s face.—
Anthony Solorzano,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Catcher Patrick Bailey went for the pick instead of a block, and Winn’s splitter banged off the backstop.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Diehard fans banged bass drums, songs emanated from the supporters’ wall and a packed stadium of 7,211 buzzed all the way through stoppage time of a tense game.—
Idaho Statesman,
Idaho Statesman,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The bearded blueliner has skated through the bumps and bruises that come with delivering checks and deflecting slap shots.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
That’s how Larry Graham came up with slap bass.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
On this postcard-perfect corner of Canada’s northeastern province of Newfoundland and Labrador that’s slammed by wind and waves, cod-fishing communities hold on to their distinctive settler history.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
2 Apr. 2026
-
On Sunday, the president of the American Federation of Government Employees slammed Congress for leaving Washington for the Easter/Passover break without reaching an agreement on funding DHS.—
Corky Siemaszko,
NBC news,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Game notes Rangers bats struggled for most of Saturday’s game with only four hits in the game but rallied and had runners on the corners with two outs in the ninth inning and Evan Carter up to bat.—
Lawrence Dow,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
5 Apr. 2026
-
When the pandemic hit, our local public school closed its computer lab, issued my kindergartener an iPad, and never looked back.—
Abby McCloskey,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Routines and big visions collide as the life-giving Sun works through your 6th House of Order, squaring Jupiter, the Greater Benefic, in your 9th House of Learning.—
Tarot.com,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
-
What started as a fringe of far-right mothers has seen its interests collide with a presidential administration that embraces and amplifies their message, launching the group into a new level of influence in public policy.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Thud.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thud. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
