thumped; thumping; thumps
1
: to strike or beat with or as if with something thick or heavy so as to cause a dull sound
4
: to produce (music) mechanically or in a mechanical manner
—usually used with out
thumped out a tune on the piano
1
a
: to inflict a thump
b
: to make or move with a thumping sound
2
: to make a vigorous endorsement
got a couple of … senators to thump for him—
The New York Herald Tribune
The New York Herald Tribune
thumper
noun
: a blow or knock with or as if with something blunt or heavy
also
: the sound made by such a blow
Synonyms
Verb
- bang
- bash
- bat
- belt
- biff
- bludgeon
- bob
- bonk
- bop
- box
- bust
- clap
- clip
- clobber
- clock
- clout
- crack
- hammer
- hit
- knock
- nail
- paste
- pound
- punch
- rap
- slam
- slap
- slog
- slug
- smack
- smite
- sock
- strike
- swat
- swipe
- tag
- thwack
- wallop
- whack
- whale
- zap
Noun
- bang
- bash
- bat
- beat
- belt
- biff
- blow
- bop
- box
- buffet
- bust
- chop
- clap
- clip
- clout
- crack
- cuff
- dab
- douse [British]
- fillip
- hack
- haymaker
- hit
- hook
- knock
- larrup [dialect]
- lash
- lick
- pelt
- pick
- plump
- poke
- pound
- punch
- rap
- slam
- slap
- slug
- smack
- smash
- sock
- spank
- stinger
- stripe
- stroke
- swat
- swipe
- switch
- thud
- thwack
- wallop
- welt
- whack
- wham
- whop
- whap
Examples of thump in a Sentence
Verb
The boat thumped against the side of the pier.
thumped the desk with his hand as he delivered his speech
Noun
The ball landed with a thump.
gave her boyfriend a thump against the side of his head whenever he said something obnoxious
Recent Examples on the WebJoshua Barone, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Instant reaction to Oregon defeating South Carolina 87-73 in the first round of the NCAAs …
This was a stellar performance from the Ducks, who broke open a close game early in the second half and thumped the No. 6 seed in the Midwest region.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2024
Raucous parties complete with thumping bass were said to take place five nights a week.
—Longreads, 15 Mar. 2024
Highly athletic and superb defensively, the Ducks thumped Kansas to reach the Final Four and lost by one point to North Carolina with a berth in the title game at stake.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Whistles blew, bodies accelerated, blue padded dummies thumped to the ground and popped back up.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
At its peak, the party attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors who poured into Atlanta’s streets — snarling traffic, thumping music and dancing on car hoods.
—Janay Kingsberry, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024
Out via Sony Music Germany/RCA Records, the song oscillates between dark and light, thumping along on a heavy bassline and building to moments of brightness rendered from Roosevelt’s melodies.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 29 Mar. 2024
Newcastle rolls over Westbrook Mattie Dollar poured in 32 points, including 15 in a 20-point second quarter, as the Newcastle thumped Westbrook 59-37 in the first Class 1A state semifinal at the Alamodome.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Feb. 2024
Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Mar. 2024
Could Cody Bellinger provide the thump missing from the lineup?
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024
The sonic ‘boom’ could become a ‘soft thump’ NASA’s goal in developing the X-59 is to reduce the sonic boom — the thunder clap that resonates far and wide when an aircraft crosses the sound barrier.
—Monica Rodman, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024
The thump of a bird hitting a window is an awful sound.
—Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Jan. 2024
Over a deeply danceable house thump, Nourished by Time’s Marcus Brown croons his hook with the confidence of an ’80s R&B lothario.
—Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2023
The opening 30 seconds of the four-minute track pulse with chanting, the crackle of snares, the thump of bass drums and the thick roar of horns.
—Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023
Surrounded by the detritus of a Thanksgiving dinner, the woman was loading the dishwasher when a loud thump thundered through the house.
—Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
At low volumes, sound was uninspiring (true of many wireless speakers), but add a bit of volume and the results are much better, with nice bass thump, solid vocals, crisp high notes and a good amount of detail.
—Brad Moon, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
Verb
The ensemble also betrays the woman’s emotions, and anticipates the increasingly sharp turns of her mental state, including with a tense, thumping rhythm like a heartbeat.
—Joshua Barone, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2024
Instant reaction to Oregon defeating South Carolina 87-73 in the first round of the NCAAs …
This was a stellar performance from the Ducks, who broke open a close game early in the second half and thumped the No. 6 seed in the Midwest region.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 21 Mar. 2024
Raucous parties complete with thumping bass were said to take place five nights a week.
—Longreads, 15 Mar. 2024
Highly athletic and superb defensively, the Ducks thumped Kansas to reach the Final Four and lost by one point to North Carolina with a berth in the title game at stake.
—Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
Whistles blew, bodies accelerated, blue padded dummies thumped to the ground and popped back up.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2024
At its peak, the party attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors who poured into Atlanta’s streets — snarling traffic, thumping music and dancing on car hoods.
—Janay Kingsberry, Washington Post, 21 Mar. 2024
Out via Sony Music Germany/RCA Records, the song oscillates between dark and light, thumping along on a heavy bassline and building to moments of brightness rendered from Roosevelt’s melodies.
—Katie Bain, Billboard, 29 Mar. 2024
Newcastle rolls over Westbrook Mattie Dollar poured in 32 points, including 15 in a 20-point second quarter, as the Newcastle thumped Westbrook 59-37 in the first Class 1A state semifinal at the Alamodome.
—Darren Lauber, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Feb. 2024
Noun
Colleyville Heritage girls soccer thumps Azle Colleyville Heritage (20-0-2) is cruising by the competition in the playoffs, and Azle (14-8-2) was its latest victim.
—Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 30 Mar. 2024
Could Cody Bellinger provide the thump missing from the lineup?
—Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 14 Feb. 2024
The sonic ‘boom’ could become a ‘soft thump’ NASA’s goal in developing the X-59 is to reduce the sonic boom — the thunder clap that resonates far and wide when an aircraft crosses the sound barrier.
—Monica Rodman, Washington Post, 18 Mar. 2024
The thump of a bird hitting a window is an awful sound.
—Rita Pelczar, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Jan. 2024
Over a deeply danceable house thump, Nourished by Time’s Marcus Brown croons his hook with the confidence of an ’80s R&B lothario.
—Pitchfork, 4 Dec. 2023
The opening 30 seconds of the four-minute track pulse with chanting, the crackle of snares, the thump of bass drums and the thick roar of horns.
—Jonah Valdez, Los Angeles Times, 1 Dec. 2023
Surrounded by the detritus of a Thanksgiving dinner, the woman was loading the dishwasher when a loud thump thundered through the house.
—Lisa Sanders, M.d., New York Times, 7 Mar. 2024
At low volumes, sound was uninspiring (true of many wireless speakers), but add a bit of volume and the results are much better, with nice bass thump, solid vocals, crisp high notes and a good amount of detail.
—Brad Moon, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thump.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near thump
Cite this Entry
“Thump.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thump. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
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