rumbling
noun · adjective
Simple meaning
A loud low dull continuous noise.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
ruhmbuhlingSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹʌmbəlɪŋ
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 loud low dull continuous noise
“They heard the rumbling of thunder.”
A deep low noise.
A muted sound of complaint or discontent (often used in the plural).
adjective
Deep- and slow-sounding.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
- Typical Use
- Primarily written
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A loud low dull continuous noise
Used this way, rumbling is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“They heard the rumbling of thunder.”
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Usage note
It most often appears in the pattern “rumbling of …”, which is worth copying when you use it.
Natural pattern: rumbling of …
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use rumbling
- “They heard the rumbling of thunder.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A loud low dull continuous 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.