as in bumping
to come into usually forceful contact with something
the snowball thudded against the side of my car
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Recent Examples of thudding
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
The early-career excitement Spielberg generated with Duel, The Sugarland Express, Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind came to a thudding halt with the frenetically busy, hopelessly bloated war comedy, 1941.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 20 Nov. 2025
Producers Mufasa and Yvng Gucci seamlessly pull off morphing the skittering drums of a somewhat generic UK drill beat into a thudding bouyon rhythm for Guadeloupean trio HollyG to run amok over.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 6 Nov. 2025
Here’s where the treadmill picks up and our steps start thudding on the track.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
In 2016, when Bad Bunny first emerged, he was identified with a style known as Latin trap, a woozy and thudding hybrid that owes something to American hip-hop.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2025
That naturalistic, lo-fi approach might play just fine were Maxine not saddled with a heavy, thudding cancer arc.
—Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
With daily departures from Chicago Union station, the superliner service rumbles through Illinois chasing mile after mile of golden-red corn fields before thudding over the Mississippi river into Iowa.
—Monisha Rajesh, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Oct. 2022
Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
The early-career excitement Spielberg generated with Duel, The Sugarland Express, Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind came to a thudding halt with the frenetically busy, hopelessly bloated war comedy, 1941.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 20 Nov. 2025
Producers Mufasa and Yvng Gucci seamlessly pull off morphing the skittering drums of a somewhat generic UK drill beat into a thudding bouyon rhythm for Guadeloupean trio HollyG to run amok over.
—Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 6 Nov. 2025
Here’s where the treadmill picks up and our steps start thudding on the track.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
In 2016, when Bad Bunny first emerged, he was identified with a style known as Latin trap, a woozy and thudding hybrid that owes something to American hip-hop.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2025
That naturalistic, lo-fi approach might play just fine were Maxine not saddled with a heavy, thudding cancer arc.
—Richard Lawson, IndieWire, 7 Sep. 2025
With daily departures from Chicago Union station, the superliner service rumbles through Illinois chasing mile after mile of golden-red corn fields before thudding over the Mississippi river into Iowa.
—Monisha Rajesh, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Oct. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thudding
Verb
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Its four conference wins against bottom-tier teams have come by 33, 20, 10 and 42 points, bumping them from 78 to 50 in Kenpom and to 44 in the NET.—
Mark Zeigler,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
12 Jan. 2026
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Not surprisingly, Robby’s reaction to bumping into Langdon is mostly anger.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
9 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The taint of being part of the cheating 2017 Astros has worn off over the years, and Cubs fans are banging the drum for Bregman’s arrival, excited to have an offensive upgrade from Matt Shaw, who can still learn a lot from playing multiple positions and watching from the bench.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Jan. 2026
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Carrick was banging this drum even as his tenure at Middlesbrough was coming to an end.—
Conor O'Neill,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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He was placed in concussion protocol Monday night after slamming his head against the turf in the team's win over the Steelers.—
Matt Schooley,
CBS News,
14 Jan. 2026
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Brown said, noting that the officer slung his rifle around his back before grabbing and body-slamming the protester.—
Nicole Foy,
ProPublica,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Sentra slowed and spun back into traffic before colliding with a red pickup truck, police said.—
Louis Casiano,
FOXNews.com,
13 Jan. 2026
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Footage of the crash showed the cars colliding head-on before the vehicles and debris flew in multiple directions, per Sky News.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As Hodges stood there, scared and vulnerable, the man grabbed his baton and bashed him on the head with it, rupturing his lip and smashing his skull.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
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The man accused of smashing windows on Vice President JD Vance's home with a hammer is facing separate prosecutions in state and federal court.—
Quinlan Bentley,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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One of those getaway vehicles, an Acura TLX, was pursued by police and traveled as fast as 70 miles per hour on city streets before crashing.—
Robert Salonga,
Mercury News,
14 Jan. 2026
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The preliminary investigation showed that the driver of the vehicle drove off and dragged the unidentified deputy a short distance before crashing.—
Steven Yablonski,
CBS News,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The woman recalled someone knocking on their door, waking her family, before hearing shots.—
DeJanay Booth-Singleton,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
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Los Angeles was knocking at the door again with a third-and-2 from New England’s three-yard line, but Kimani Vidal was stuffed.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Surveillance video showed a gray Honda ramming into the store's front façade.—
Tim Fang,
CBS News,
14 Jan. 2026
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The video shows the agents repeatedly ramming the Bazans’ car during a slow chase through the city.—
Nicole Foy,
ProPublica,
13 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Thudding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thudding. Accessed 17 Jan. 2026.
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