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
- thump
- 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
- thump
- wallop
- welt
- whack
- wham
- whop
- whap
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
CBS News, 6 Sep. 2023
Sometimes, there’s just one kid in the class who needs to be thwacked for good measure.
—Time, 25 Aug. 2023
The lead staff member, a thin Ukrainian woman wearing a turban, offered to thwack people’s lat muscles with the branches—an Eastern European tradition that is said to move circulation and release toxins.
—Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 14 July 2023
But the constant fear of getting thwacked is too much.
—Shannon Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2023
Another woman kept accidentally thwacking fellow showgoers with an enormous Vuitton bag shaped like an airplane.
—Rachel Tashjian, Washington Post, 21 June 2023
The hours before a baseball game have a languor to them: kids gawking on the edges of the field, big-leaguers thwacking batting-practice home runs.
—Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023
The poem was accompanied by an image of Meg White peeking out from behind a curtain of hair while thwacking a kit featuring the duo’s signature peppermint swirl color scheme.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 Mar. 2023
Line up, charge aimlessly, and then thwack at one another.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2021
Beth Teitell, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Aug. 2023
Then, the methodical thwack of the receptionist’s pumps would sound down the long hallway as the girls swivelled towards her from their respective stations—pulling towels from the dryer, applying lipstick at the vanity, melting into the couch in a cloud of cigarettes and Pink Sugar perfume.
—Hazlitt, 12 July 2023
Herewith then are a few tips for picking the best watermelon:
First, give it a good thwack.
—David Holloway, al, 5 July 2023
The head-on-pine thwack was audible above the Billy Ray, and several adult chaperones screamed.
—Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 5 June 2023
Besides the nostalgia factor — flashback to the thwack, thwack, thwack of jumping rope outside with your neighborhood friends — this old-school piece of workout equipment is cheap, portable and provides a ton of fitness benefits.
—Tatiana Lampa, Good Housekeeping, 4 Aug. 2022
Courier used to love the unique thwack.
—New York Times, 12 June 2021
In his final two rounds facing the slider machine, Chourio rocketed lasers to all fields, the thwack of the bat reverberating throughout the back fields.
—Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2023
The thwack sets off more chaos, before the two move their fight out of the theater and into the cotton-candy-pink-tiled bathroom.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2022
See More
Verb
The biggest barrier to recycling the rubber in the ball is the difficulty of removing the felt from the rubber core because of the tight glue designed to hold that cover on when it's thwacked by a racket.
—CBS News, 6 Sep. 2023
Sometimes, there’s just one kid in the class who needs to be thwacked for good measure.
—Time, 25 Aug. 2023
The lead staff member, a thin Ukrainian woman wearing a turban, offered to thwack people’s lat muscles with the branches—an Eastern European tradition that is said to move circulation and release toxins.
—Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 14 July 2023
But the constant fear of getting thwacked is too much.
—Shannon Larson, BostonGlobe.com, 7 July 2023
Another woman kept accidentally thwacking fellow showgoers with an enormous Vuitton bag shaped like an airplane.
—Rachel Tashjian, Washington Post, 21 June 2023
The hours before a baseball game have a languor to them: kids gawking on the edges of the field, big-leaguers thwacking batting-practice home runs.
—Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 12 June 2023
The poem was accompanied by an image of Meg White peeking out from behind a curtain of hair while thwacking a kit featuring the duo’s signature peppermint swirl color scheme.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 16 Mar. 2023
Line up, charge aimlessly, and then thwack at one another.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 21 Mar. 2021
Noun
The main character is newly retired, hobbled by complications from hip replacement surgery, and trying to write his first novel while enduring the irritating thwack, thwack, thwack from his neighbor’s pickleball court.
—Beth Teitell, BostonGlobe.com, 14 Aug. 2023
Then, the methodical thwack of the receptionist’s pumps would sound down the long hallway as the girls swivelled towards her from their respective stations—pulling towels from the dryer, applying lipstick at the vanity, melting into the couch in a cloud of cigarettes and Pink Sugar perfume.
—Hazlitt, 12 July 2023
Herewith then are a few tips for picking the best watermelon:
First, give it a good thwack.
—David Holloway, al, 5 July 2023
The head-on-pine thwack was audible above the Billy Ray, and several adult chaperones screamed.
—Jonathan Rowe, SPIN, 5 June 2023
Besides the nostalgia factor — flashback to the thwack, thwack, thwack of jumping rope outside with your neighborhood friends — this old-school piece of workout equipment is cheap, portable and provides a ton of fitness benefits.
—Tatiana Lampa, Good Housekeeping, 4 Aug. 2022
Courier used to love the unique thwack.
—New York Times, 12 June 2021
In his final two rounds facing the slider machine, Chourio rocketed lasers to all fields, the thwack of the bat reverberating throughout the back fields.
—Journal Sentinel, 7 Mar. 2023
The thwack sets off more chaos, before the two move their fight out of the theater and into the cotton-candy-pink-tiled bathroom.
—Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Feb. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'thwack.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Dictionary Entries Near thwack
Cite this Entry
“Thwack.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/thwack. Accessed 21 Sep. 2023.
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