From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthudthud1 /θʌd/ noun [countable] CSSOUNDthe low sound made by a heavy object hitting something elsea dull/hard/heavy thud There was a dull thud as the box hit the floor. His head hit the floor with a sickening thud.► see thesaurus at sound
Examples from the Corpus
thud• I heard a shot, followed by a thud as his body hit the floor.• I heard a thud behind me.• Not so natural to put her down with a thud and devour her with a kiss.• They fell with a thud upon his bedside chair.• She landed on the floor with a thud.• Soon he was hammering on the door, thud after thud, a noise fit to wake the dead.• I hear thuds and blows, and then some one is moaning in pain.• There was another jolting thud in my back.• The ferry docked in Brooklyn with a loud thud.• A snowball hit her on the back of the neck with a soft thud.• Suddenly we heard the thud of horses' hooves.• It hit on the spine and went thud.a sickening thud• Her heart took up a sickening thud.• One pitched out, hitting the ground with a sickening thud.• Then, with a sickening thud in her solar plexus, she understood.thudthud2 verb (thudded, thudding) [intransitive] 1 CS[always + adverb/preposition]SOUND to hit something with a low sound The stone thudded to the ground. waves thudding against the side of the ship2 [always + adverb/preposition] to walk or run with your feet making a heavy sound as they touch the ground A horse thudded over the frozen grass.3 if your heart thuds, it beats strongly because you are excited or frightened Peter was aware of his heart thudding in his chest.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
thud• I lay down on my bed and felt the blood thudding above my eyes.• She waited until I locked myself in and then left, her feet thudding hollow on the floor.• By late afternoon, a full-scale battle had broken out with rockets and grenades exploding regularly and bullets thudding into the walls.• She stopped breathing but her heart kept on thudding its own wild race.• When they thud through the letter-box, £150 will go a long way to ease your mind.• She could hear his heart thudding under her ear, feel his warmth pressed against her, making her giddy.Origin thud2 (1500-1600) Probably from Old English thyddan “to push forcefully” 