thunder
verb · noun
Simple meaning
To make or produce a loud noise.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
thuhnderSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈθʌndɚ
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.
verb
To make or produce a loud noise
intransitive
To make a noise like thunder.
impersonal
To produce thunder; to sound, rattle, or roar, as a discharge of atmospheric electricity.
impersonal
Be the case that thunder is being heard
“Whenever it thunders, my dog crawls under the bed.”
To produce something with incredible power.
intransitivetransitive
To say (something) with a loud, threatening voice.
noun
A booming or crashing noise caused by air expanding along the path of a bolt of lightning
The loud rumbling, cracking, or crashing sound caused by expansion of rapidly heated air around a lightning bolt.
A deep prolonged loud noise
An alarming or startling threat or denunciation.
The 13th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.
A deep, rumbling noise resembling thunder.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: To make or produce a loud noise
Used this way, thunder 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
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use thunder
- “The bus thundered down the road.”verb
- “Whenever it thunders, my dog crawls under the bed.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Small reddish wormlike snake of eastern United States.
Huge quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaur common in North America in the late Jurassic.
A receptacle for urination or defecation in the bedroom.
With great speed or effort or intensity.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The spirit of thunder and lightning believed by some Native Americans to take the shape of a great bird.
A storm resulting from strong rising air currents.
A discharge of lightning accompanied by thunder.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: to make or produce a loud 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.