Thump Meaning
/θʌmp/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA blow that produces a muffled sound.
nounThe sound of such a blow; a thud.
Sentence Examples
I heard a thump.
Sami heard a thump.
Michael's heart started to thump in his chest.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The angry man hit the wooden table hard with a loud ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I could hear the steady ____ of the drum coming from the room next door where the band was practicing today.
Word Origin & History
Mid 16th century, probably imitative.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"... and so the universal thump is passed round, and all hands should rub each other’s shoulder-blades, and be content."
— 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 1:
"The watchman gave so very great a thump at my door last night, that I awakened at the knock."
— 1710 January 3 (Gregorian calendar), Isaac Bickerstaff [et al., pseudonyms; Richard Steele et al.], “Friday, December 24, 1709”, in The Tatler, number 111; republished in [Richard Steele], editor, The Tatler, […], London stereotype edition, volume II, London: I. Walker and Co.; […], 1822, →OCLC:
"An interesting feature of the church is the invisible clock, which you can hear thumping away as you enter. Constructed in 1525, it is one of the oldest timepieces in England. It chimes the hours and the quarters, and every three hours it plays a hymn. But it has no faces."
— 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 163:
"These bastard Bretons, whom our fathers / Have in their own land beaten, bobb'd, and thump'd."
— c. 1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedy of Richard the Third: […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act V, scene iii]:
"Kasper Schmeichel brilliantly denied Marouane Chamakh before Bacary Sagna thumped home a second, though Bradley Johnson's screamer halved the deficit."
— 2011 January 19, Jonathan Stevenson, “Leeds 1-3 Arsenal”, in BBC:
Explore More B2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The angry man hit the wooden table hard with a loud ____.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
I could hear the steady ____ of the drum coming from the room next door where the band was practicing today.