rumble
noun · verb
Simple meaning
A low, heavy, continuous sound, such as that of thunder or a hungry stomach.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ruhmbuhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹʌmbəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A low, heavy, continuous sound, such as that of thunder or a hungry stomach.
A loud low dull continuous noise
“They heard the rumbling of thunder.”
A rotating cask or box in which small articles are smoothed or polished by friction against each other.
verb
intransitive
To move while making a rumbling noise.
Make a low noise
intransitive
To make a low, heavy, continuous sound.
transitive
To discover deceitful or underhanded behaviour.
transitive
To cause to pass through a rumble, or polishing machine.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C1 · Advanced
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A low, heavy, continuous sound, such as that of thunder or a hungry stomach.
Used this way, rumble is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A loud low dull continuous noise.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A folding outside seat in the back of some early cars.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to move while making a rumbling noise
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.