thwack

verb

\ ˈthwak

How to pronounce thwack (audio)

\

thwacked; thwacking; thwacks

Definition of thwack

(Entry 1 of 2)

transitive verb

: to strike with or as if with something flat or heavy : whack

thwack

noun

Definition of thwack (Entry 2 of 2)

: a heavy blow : whack also : the sound of or as if of such a blow

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Examples of thwack in a Sentence

Verb

A book fell off the shelf and thwacked me on the head. thwacked the growling dog on the nose with a rolled-up newspaper

Noun

he gave the ball a hard thwack with the bat and sent it deep into the outfield even from the top of the bleachers we could hear the loud thwack of the ball being hit

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Belgium had been thwacked by Italy and Turkey in the group stage of that 2000 tournament in a resounding message about the country’s prowess. — Andrew Beaton, WSJ, "The Professor Who Helped Make Belgian Soccer a World Power," 9 July 2018 But Bourdain chose his targets carefully, often made amends, and rarely thwacked his rhetorical skillet upon the less powerful. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, "What Anthony Bourdain Understood About Authenticity," 12 June 2018 Washed away in a torrent, on Rocky goes, thwacking and plonking his way to Texas and then to South Dakota. — Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, "Children’s Books: Happy Earth Day," 20 Apr. 2018 If a jockey is thwacked off his mount, his riderless horse can still win on its own, like Garfunkel arriving without Simon. — Dwight Garner, New York Times, "The Palio di Siena: A Survivor’s Tale," 16 Apr. 2018 Or the one that conjures up the clip of him getting thwacked by Jalen Mills in the 2016 opener, causing a shoulder injury that cost him nearly the entire season. — Conor Orr, SI.com, "Will Robert Griffin III Rebound in Baltimore?," 4 Apr. 2018 In 2002 the employers of Gordon Jones, a steel-drum loader, were thwacked with a 30% tariff. — The Economist, "Steel bannedWhy tariffs on steel and aluminium are easier said than done," 24 Mar. 2018 Live fish — Momma Wong typically goes for the tilapia, which is thwacked, gutted and scaled in the store. — Grace Wong, chicagotribune.com, "How to shop Asian grocery stores and stock your pantry," 1 Mar. 2018 Cleavers thwack rhythmically through chicken carcasses; blackened woks sizzle with hunks of ginger and garlic. — Hilda Hoy, Slate Magazine, "Aboriginal restaurants in rural Taiwan are dishing up chicken with a side of identity politics.," 8 May 2017

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

The old mechanical thwack of a high-end DSLR is a joy that mirrorless cameras can only ever hope to imitate. — Vlad Savov, The Verge, "The Leica S3 is a frustratingly awesome medium format DSLR," 27 Sep. 2018 That Super Bowl commercial with the overdramatic chorus punctuated by massive thwacks on the bass drum? — Weston Williams, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Verdi' takes a lively approach to uncovering the man behind the art," 4 July 2018 Fay winds up with the Squatch Stik and takes a home-run swing at a tall tree, sending a loud thwack echoing through the forest. — Leah Sottile, SFChronicle.com, "Gone ‘squatchin’: How to hunt for Bigfoot," 8 June 2018 The camps echoed with the thwack of hammers nailing planks into place and with the grunts of men positioning sandbags on their roofs to keep them from blowing away. — Shashank Bengali, latimes.com, "Rohingya Muslims who escaped the Myanmar army now brace for a threat they can't outrun: Rain," 30 May 2018 The jangling whine of the engine turns into a steady jackhammer thwack as the drill pounds steel casings down two meters, then retrieves them, now full of soil samples. — Genesee Keevil, Popular Mechanics, "The Rush: What the World's Greatest Gold Prospector Knows," 17 May 2018 Wyatt's bat connected with the two-out, 2-2 pitch, and the rich, crisp thwack immediately drew attention as heads snapped to follow the ball high and deep over the right-field wall at Jim Patterson Stadium. — Danielle Lerner, The Courier-Journal, "'Ultimate teammate' Logan Wyatt fires up the bats for Louisville baseball," 19 Apr. 2018 In Auto and Dynamic modes, the 255/40R-20 Michelins acknowledge pavement imperfections with a solid thwack. — Joe Lorio, Car and Driver, "2019 Audi A7," 7 Feb. 2018 There’s a frisky all-American quality to the jazzy cross-rhythms that propel the central section, punctuated by thwacks of bundled sticks against a bass drum. — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Muti, soloists premiere a big-shouldered crowd pleaser with Higdon's Low Brass Concerto," 2 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'thwack.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Time Traveler for thwack

The first known use of thwack was circa 1530

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More Definitions for thwack

thwack

verb

English Language Learners Definition of thwack

: to hit (someone or something) hard with a loud sound

See the full definition for thwack in the English Language Learners Dictionary

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an enemy or opponent

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