THUMP

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does thump mean? 

• THUMP (noun)
  The noun THUMP has 2 senses:

1. a heavy dull sound (as made by impact of heavy objects)

2. a heavy blow with the hand

  Familiarity information: THUMP used as a noun is rare.

• THUMP (verb)
  The verb THUMP has 3 senses:

1. move rhythmically

2. make a dull sound

3. hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument

  Familiarity information: THUMP used as a verb is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• THUMP (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A heavy dull sound (as made by impact of heavy objects)

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural events

Synonyms:

clump; clunk; thud; thump; thumping

Hypernyms ("thump" is a kind of...):

sound (the sudden occurrence of an audible event)

Derivation:

thump (make a dull sound)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A heavy blow with the hand

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Hypernyms ("thump" is a kind of...):

blow (a powerful stroke with the fist or a weapon)

Derivation:

thump (hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument)

• THUMP (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they thump    ... he / she / it thumps   
Past simple: thumped   
Past participle: thumped   
-ing form: thumping   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Move rhythmically

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

beat; pound; thump

Context example:

Her heart was beating fast

Hypernyms (to "thump" is one way to...):

move (move so as to change position, perform a nontranslational motion)

Verb group:

beat (indicate by beating, as with the fingers or drumsticks)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "thump"):

pulsate; pulse; throb (expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically)

flutter; palpitate (beat rapidly)

thrash (beat so fast that (the heart's) output starts dropping until (it) does not manage to pump out blood at all)

flap (move noisily)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Sense 2

Meaning:

Make a dull sound

Classified under:

Verbs of seeing, hearing, feeling

Synonyms:

thud; thump

Context example:

the knocker thudded against the front door

Hypernyms (to "thump" is one way to...):

go; sound (make a certain noise or sound)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s

Derivation:

thump; thumping (a heavy dull sound (as made by impact of heavy objects))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Hit hard with the hand, fist, or some heavy instrument

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

poke; pound; thump

Context example:

a bible-thumping Southern Baptist

Hypernyms (to "thump" is one way to...):

hit (deal a blow to, either with the hand or with an instrument)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody

Sentence example:

The fighter managed to thump his opponent

Derivation:

thump (a heavy blow with the hand)

 Context examples 

But his heart began its warning thump, thump, thump.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

At a more than ordinary pitch of thumping and hallooing in the passage, he exclaimed, Devil take those young dogs!

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

And here a fresh alarm brought me to a standstill with a thumping heart.

(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)

The clerk hurried away in horror; but, ere he had gone many paces, he heard a sudden, sullen thump, with a choking, whistling sound at the end of it.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

She was returning: of course my heart thumped with impatience against the iron rails I leant upon.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

“Sure,” answered O’Brien, thumping down a plethoric sack by the side of Matthewson’s.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

You can feel Uranus thumping around the heavens, and it will be a joy to see that at long last you are closer to grasping a dream.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

Finally he returned to the pawnbroker’s, and, having thumped vigorously upon the pavement with his stick two or three times, he went up to the door and knocked.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

There was a silence in which I could hear my poor heart thumping, and then when I looked again the figure was gone, and the low creak, creak was heard once more upon the stairs.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Somewhere a boot thumped loudly and at irregular intervals against the wall; and, though it was a mild night on the sea, there was a continual chorus of the creaking timbers and bulkheads and of abysmal noises beneath the flooring.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)