From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthunderthun‧der1 /ˈθʌndə $ -ər/ ●●○ noun 1 [uncountable]HEM the loud noise that you hear during a storm, usually after a flash of lightning We were woken in the night by thunder.2 [singular]CSSOUND a loud deep noise She heard the thunder of hooves behind her.3 → a face like thunder → blood-and-thunder, → steal somebody’s thunder at steal1(9)COLLOCATIONSphrasesa rumble/roll of thunder (=one of a series of deep sounds)We could hear the rumble of thunder growing louder.a clap/crash/crack of thunder (=one extremely loud sound)Lightning flickered across the sky, followed seconds later by a loud crack of thunder.a peal of thunder (=one very loud sound)She jumped as a huge peal of thunder crashed directly overhead.thunder and lightningRain fell steadily for an hour, accompanied by thunder and lightning.verbsthunder crashes/boomsThunder crashed overhead, waking the baby.thunder rumbles/rollsThunder rumbled in the distance.adjectivesdistant thunderApart from the occasional rumble of distant thunder, there was silence.
Examples from the Corpus
thunder• There was a thunder clap followed instantly by lightning.• The sky had darkened and thunder rolled in the west.• Outside my window was the constant thunder of delivery trucks.• They could hear thunder rumbling in the distance.• A strong wind was now blowing and there was a loud crack of thunder.• A crash of thunder and lightning follows.• In the midst of thunder and lightening, Alfredo begs his father to take a sword and kill him.• Despite the ominous thunder of global war, the date on which to observe Thanksgiving was a hot issue.• In spring, when showers shimmer down and slow-rolling thunder sounds, remember Dineh!• Nothing could be heard save the thunder of artillery... and the continuous roar of musketry.• The thunder and lightning seemed to have moved away, but the rain continued to pour.thunderthunder2 verb 1 → it thunders2 [intransitive always + adverb/preposition]CSSOUND to run or move along quickly, in a way that makes a very loud noise The children came thundering downstairs. Huge lorries thundered past us.3 [intransitive] to make a very loud deep noise Guns roared and thundered all around us.4 [transitive]SHOUT to shout loudly and angrily ‘You must be mad!’ he thundered.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
thunder• "Be quiet!" Miguel thundered.• Fighter jets thundered across the sky.• Legions of men, women and children thundered along these lanes, ringing their bells and scattering pedestrians like startled pigeons.• While the taps were thundering, he poured himself a large whisky and soda, and gulped it.• Did you hear it thunder just now?• From his pulpit thundered the most extraordinary denunciations of violations and abuses.• As the cannon thundered, the ranks broke, only to be formed again with dogged determination.• The train thundered through the station.Origin thunder1 Old English thunor 