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 mantra is set against the kind of thudding club beat that defined the earliest phases of her career.
—
Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2026
Footwork clatter and thudding 808s exude yearning emotion on the young producer-songwriter’s patchworked new track.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
Each must traverse more than a mile-and-a-half of terrain, through a canyon, into shadows and out, over rolls that hurl the body half a football field through the air before thudding it back down again.
—Barry Svrluga, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2026
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
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
Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 2 May 2026
Footwork clatter and thudding 808s exude yearning emotion on the young producer-songwriter’s patchworked new track.
—Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 13 Mar. 2026
Each must traverse more than a mile-and-a-half of terrain, through a canyon, into shadows and out, over rolls that hurl the body half a football field through the air before thudding it back down again.
—Barry Svrluga, Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2026
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thudding
Verb
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Drivers trading paint started early as there was bumping coming down the front stretch to take the green flag before Lap 1.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
10 May 2026
-
The Knicks downgraded Josh Hart to questionable with a left thumb sprain on Thursday before bumping him up to probable ahead of tipoff for Game 3 on Friday.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
8 May 2026
Verb
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Howden doubled the lead with a shorthanded goal 7½ minutes later, finding miles of space just to the right of the goal and banging in a pass from Marner that split LaCombe and Alex Killorn.—
Kevin Baxter,
Los Angeles Times,
15 May 2026
-
On Wednesday evening, Associated Press journalists saw residents in numerous neighborhoods banging pots and pans and setting fire to trash cans to protest the blackouts.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
Adam Carolla Adam Carolla has thrown his full support behind Pratt, repeatedly praising the former reality star and slamming his opponents.—
Ashley Hume,
FOXNews.com,
13 May 2026
-
After that news conference, Senate Republicans held their own press briefing, slamming the proposals.—
Jeremy Gorner,
Chicago Tribune,
11 May 2026
Verb
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Once stationary, deactivate all lights except the hazard flashers, engage the emergency brake, and release the brake pedal to ensure your tail lights remain unlit, minimizing the chance of other drivers colliding with your stationary vehicle.—
NC Weather Bot,
Charlotte Observer,
12 May 2026
-
The trailers lean hard into cinephile in-jokes, typically riffing on film history before colliding those references with the realities of running a defiantly non-mainstream festival.—
Scott Roxborough,
HollywoodReporter,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Suarez was caught on surveillance camera smashing into the Volkswagen Jetta on Amsterdam Ave.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
16 May 2026
-
Dwight reached out and squeezed my upper arm, pulling me into a bear hug, smashing my face against the rough canvas of his jacket, his gloved hand on my ass pulling me closer.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
Verb
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Troopers arrested two men after a high-speed chase on Florida’s Turnpike early Wednesday morning ended with a BMW crashing into a guardrail.—
David Goodhue,
Miami Herald,
13 May 2026
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Two armed teenagers were arrested Monday night after stealing a car in Northeast Philadelphia and crashing it into a truck, police said.—
Nate Sylves,
CBS News,
12 May 2026
Verb
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Video posted online by Kol Haolam News shows the Honda backing up and then driving into the pair of double doors, knocking one door off its hinges.—
Colin Mixson,
New York Daily News,
14 May 2026
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The puck had just slipped through Poehling’s skates when McNabb crunched Poehling into the boards, knocking him out for the rest of the game and prompting an official review.—
Eric Stephens,
New York Times,
13 May 2026
Verb
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Among other allegations, Betty Broderick was suspected of conducting a longtime vendetta against the couple, including ramming her car into the two-story brick home on Cypress Avenue.—
Jeff McDonald,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 May 2026
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Elliot Rodger went on a killing spree, stabbing, shooting and ramming people with a vehicle in Isla Vista, California, killing six people and injuring more than a dozen before dying by suicide.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Thudding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thudding. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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