Thud Meaning
/ˈθʌd/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounThe sound of a dull impact.
nounA hard, dull impact.
Sentence Examples
I put the shopping bag on the table with a thud.
The demon lord finally lost consciousness and fell to the floor with a thud.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The heavy wooden box fell to the floor with a loud ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I heard a loud ____ as the heavy package fell onto the wooden floor in the hallway early this morning today.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English thudden (“to strike with a weapon”), from Old English þyddan (“to strike, press, thrust”), from Proto-Germanic *þuddijaną, *þiudijaną (“to strike, thrust”), from Proto-Germanic *þūhaną, *þeuhaną (“to press”), from Proto-Indo-European *tūk- (“to beat”). Cognate with Old English þoddettan (“to strike, push, batter”), Old English þȳdan (“to strike, stab, thrust, press”), Old English þēowan (“to press”), Albanian thundër (“a hoof, talon, a shaft", figuratively, "oppression, torment”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"These were but the thoughts of a second, but the voices were nearer, and I heard a dull thud far up the passage, and knew that a man had jumped down from the churchyard into the hole."
— 1898, J. Meade Falkner, chapter 3, in Moonfleet (fiction), London: Edward Arnold:
"Ramos had locked Salah’s right arm and turned him, judo-style, as they lost balance going for the same ball. Television replays hardened the suspicion it was a calculated move on Ramos’s part and, when Salah landed with a hell of a thud, the damage was considerable."
— 2018 May 26, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian, London, →OCLC, archived from the original on 27 May 2018:
"Sinclair told the B.A.R. [Bay Area Reporter] he felt the thud of the pistol on his left cheek about a 100 feet from his car, […]"
— 1995 January 26, Mary Ann Swissler, “Fremont Man Recovering from Livermore Pass Attack”, in Bay Area Reporter, volume XXV, number 4, San Fransico, page 18:
"Pillowcase whippings offer the look and feel of a flagellatio scene’s atmosphere, mood, and psychology while involving only very mild amounts of pain. (A pillowcase is almost all “thud” and very little “sting” in the sensations it creates.)"
— 1992, Jay J. Wiseman, SM 101: A Realistic Introduction, 2nd edition, San Francisco: Greenery Press, published 1996, →ISBN, page 181:
"It still wasn’t what I’d call painful but as he swung his arm and the strands of the flogger hit me together it felt like a solid thud rather than a number of different tails stinging me."
— 2013, Sophie Morgan, No Ordinary Love Story, London: Penguin Books, →ISBN, page 294:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The heavy wooden box fell to the floor with a loud ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I heard a loud ____ as the heavy package fell onto the wooden floor in the hallway early this morning today.