as in thumps
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
the thud of his head against the cabinet door brought tears to his eyes
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in bumps
to come into usually forceful contact with something
the snowball thudded against the side of my car
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of thuds
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Another day, as Mom loads the children into the car, Jeremy tosses a basketball against the house, again and again, his passive aggression registering through the ball’s unyielding thuds and his own frozen gaze.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2026
The call, which the filing says was made within two minutes of the thuds, was to an employee of the company that owned the development where Okland was hosting the open house.
—Karen Cortes, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
The room fills with the sound of meditative thuds against caribou skin drums and the haunting, throaty vocals of several Tasiilaq men and women.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Mar. 2026
At about two this morning, the familiar howl of air-raid sirens woke me in the center of Kyiv, followed by the low thuds of anti-aircraft cannons attempting to shoot down Russian drones.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2026
Karen Cortes, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
Noun
Likewise, the score by Tony Doogan leans too heavily on generic electronic thuds, the kind that segue into a commercial break cliffhanger and an ad for blood pressure medicine.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2026
Another day, as Mom loads the children into the car, Jeremy tosses a basketball against the house, again and again, his passive aggression registering through the ball’s unyielding thuds and his own frozen gaze.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 12 Apr. 2026
The call, which the filing says was made within two minutes of the thuds, was to an employee of the company that owned the development where Okland was hosting the open house.
—Karen Cortes, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
The room fills with the sound of meditative thuds against caribou skin drums and the haunting, throaty vocals of several Tasiilaq men and women.
—Megan Spurrell, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Mar. 2026
At about two this morning, the familiar howl of air-raid sirens woke me in the center of Kyiv, followed by the low thuds of anti-aircraft cannons attempting to shoot down Russian drones.
—Simon Shuster, The Atlantic, 3 Feb. 2026
Verb
According to the motion, a witness in a home next to the open house saw Ramsey after having heard two loud thuds that investigators believe were gunshots.
—Karen Cortes, NBC news, 9 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for thuds
Noun
-
In Guyana’s capital city of Georgetown, neighbors can still hear the thumps.—
Tyler Jett,
Des Moines Register,
21 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will start at $99,995, excluding a mandatory $2,595 destination fee that bumps the price to $102,590.—
Michael Wayland,
CNBC,
1 Jan. 2026
-
A day when the Stanley Cup years finally ride the synaptic road back to long-term memory and the brain finally bumps the past for the present.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Pitch invasions, punches thrown (allegedly) and promotion by a whisker in the 103rd minute.—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Dallas and Minnesota throw punches from your weight class.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
24 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Teal'c takes out some frustrations on an unlucky grunt who bangs him with a door at the start of every time loop, and O'Neill gets to (temporarily) sample the will-they side of his will-they-won't-they relationship with Carter.—
Daryl Baxter,
Space.com,
14 Apr. 2026
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Another bangs his head against the wall after expressing suicidal thoughts.—
Morgan Lee,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The Russian military appears to be losing some ground in Ukraine, contrary to claims by Moscow’s top brass; Ukrainian strikes are delivering damaging blows to vital Russian oil and gas infrastructure; and drone strikes by Kyiv have disrupted life in the Russian capital before.—
Nathan Hodge,
CNN Money,
29 Apr. 2026
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And Minnesota didn’t absorb or respond to the blows.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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And yet my instinct to recoil at this all collides with a harder reality.—
Catherine Thorbecke,
Twin Cities,
25 Apr. 2026
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The business model underpinning kids and family animation is under growing strain, as a post-streaming contraction collides with declining linear viewership and tighter commissioning, a panel at Spain’s Quirino Future Lab session underscored on Wednesday.—
Callum McLennan,
Variety,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Leonard extended his 20-point streak to 49 straight games with 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting, welcoming hand slaps from teammates after hitting his second 3-pointer late in the game.—
Janis Carr,
Oc Register,
26 Mar. 2026
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For the Dominican Republic, Guerrero flashed the same chest slaps and spiked bats that punctuated his postseason homers.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
19 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Hudson’s character plays dirty and slams Ness’ hand at tipoff.—
Erin Jensen,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2026
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On stage, Cameron Winter leads an overall enthralling performance, as the group slams out songs back-to-back with little to say in between; no shenanigans, just a top-notch show.—
Mikael Wood,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Thuds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/thuds. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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