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thunk

/θəŋk/
IPA guide

Other forms: thunks

A thunk is a loud, deep sound, like the thunk your head makes against your desk when you fall asleep in math class. Again.

The informal, imitative thunk is a good word for the hollow thudding sound of something heavy making a dull impact. You can talk about the thunk of a door closing or the the thunk your heavy book makes when it falls to the floor. A second informal meaning of thunk is the humorous past tense of think: "Who'd've thunk I'd catch a fish with a piece of cheese and some dental floss?"

Definitions of thunk
  1. noun
    a dull hollow sound
    “the basketball made a thunk as it hit the rim”
    see moresee less
    type of:
    sound
    the sudden occurrence of an audible event
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