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
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
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
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
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
-
There’s a lot of serendipity and people bumping into one another.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
18 Feb. 2026
-
The top eight skiers advanced to the medal final and both Kauf and Anthony got higher scores, bumping Giaccio, 25, out of contention into ninth place.—
Lori Riley,
Hartford Courant,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
And Peters has been banging his head on his desk trying to get Congress to use it.—
Josh Tyrangiel,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Agitators were seen blowing whistles, banging pots and pans, shaking metal barricades and striking the rails set up outside the property.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The team wasn't supposed to be landing at Miami International Airport, but because of the historic blizzard that was slamming the Northeast, the flight from Italy arrived in the Sunshine State.—
Marybel Rodriguez,
CBS News,
24 Feb. 2026
-
At the University of South Dakota, art professor Michael Hook was fired for slamming Kirk in the wake of his assassination.—
Anders Hagstrom,
FOXNews.com,
22 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
From Wale to Snoop Dogg, the worlds of wrestling and hip-hop have been colliding quite frequently.—
Kyle Denis,
Billboard,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Despite a pathological fear of climbing after a tragic accident, Aaron sets off to rescue sister Seren in stunning Snowdonia, colliding with a far-right faction plotting a violent outrage in the local mountains.—
John Hopewell,
Variety,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Intriguingly, the lunar surface is littered with craters that record the chaotic early days of the solar system when planets and asteroids were smashing into one another.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Images and videos flooded social media of immigration law enforcement’s violent encounters with protesters, including shooting rubber bullets, spraying chemical agents at close range and smashing car windows.—
Daniella Silva,
NBC news,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
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The final decision to sell came last May after a car crashing into the back of the building necessitated repairs and reopening on his own proved too difficult.—
Leanne Battelle,
Mercury News,
24 Feb. 2026
-
The younger guard left his feet before there was even time to think, his body crashing down onto Brunson’s braced shoulders for a foul call.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto and Ami Nakai and Glenn's teammate Alysa Liu followed and overtook her score, knocking her off the podium.—
Greg Rosenstein,
NBC news,
20 Feb. 2026
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In the hunt for their own goal, the Americans kept knocking on the door, but couldn’t break through.—
Sean Gregory,
Time,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Two Pittsburgh men are now charged in Ohio after a drug investigation ended with one of them ramming multiple police vehicles.—
Patrick Damp,
CBS News,
19 Feb. 2026
-
He was literally known for ramming through players at the goal line.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Thudding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thudding. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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