1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

clunking

verb

present participle of clunk
as in thudding

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for clunking
  1. thudding
  2. bumping
  3. bouncing
  4. skipping
  5. banging
  6. glancing
  7. knocking
  8. ricocheting
Verb
  • The players actually are doing a pretty good job of thudding each other without crossing the line.
    — Pat Leonard, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2026
  • Running backs earn trust not just through their burst past thudding defenders in no-tackle practices, but especially through their pass-protection ability and receiver capabilities.
    — Cam Inman, Mercury News, 24 July 2026
Definition of thudding
Verb
  • Of course, Preece’s move into the field meant bumping out another driver.
    — Jacob Feldman, Sportico.com, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Bonhams is bumping its buyer’s premium up to 30 percent from 28 percent for bids of £25,000 ($33,700) or less.
    — Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of bumping
Verb
  • Erika La'Pearl, a makeup artist based in Los Angeles, recommends bouncing a damp sponge over the product, while Meyers uses her ring finger to gently tap it into place for a softer finish.
    — Christa Joanna Lee, Allure, 18 Sep. 2026
  • The first occurred in Monday’s soggy win, as Jones let a bouncing ball in the gap get by him, resulting in a two-run triple.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of bouncing
Verb
  • PetMD recommends skipping the fancy labels and instead choosing shampoos that are pH-balanced for dogs and targeted to actual skin and coat needs like dryness, shedding or itching.
    — Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 19 Sep. 2026
  • Going out with friends meant skipping drinks and potentially bringing a salad along.
    — Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of skipping
Verb
  • Sox right fielder Tristan Peters suffered a bruised shoulder/rib while banging into the outfield wall on Kevin McGonigle’s three-run triple in the fifth inning.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 19 Sep. 2026
  • In 2015, Ben Hiscox died after falling backwards and banging his head on the clubhouse wall during an amateur game at Stoke Gifford, near Bristol.
    — Stuart James, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of banging
Verb
  • Prosecutors put the photo up on a large screen in the courtroom, showing a bearded man in a black T-shirt in front of platters of food, glancing quizzically at the camera.
    — Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Lady Holiday listlessly turns the pages, barely glancing at Miss Piggy in various outfits.
    — Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of glancing
Verb
  • Next, the door becomes his battering ram, knocking three enemies down to the landing below him.
    — Chris Klimek, Vulture, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Some of the entries this year have been knocking on the Hall door for years, including Tickle Me Elmo, the Pokémon Trading Card Game and Mahjong.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of knocking
Verb
  • Her thoughts, ideas, and connections, are ricocheting and forming spectacular creations that are the epitome of what a brain at its most powerful can achieve.
    — Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 8 Sep. 2026
  • As the loops build, the lines glance off one another, ricocheting back and forth—an on-the-nose but effective arrangement for a song about being in a holding pattern.
    — Mitch Therieau, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2026
Definition of ricocheting
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.

Browse Nearby Words

clunkers
clunking
clunks
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Clunking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clunking. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All