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thunder

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thunder¹

  • /ˈθʌndə/ British, UK, Southern
  • /ˈfʌndə/ UK
  • /ˈθʊndə/ Midlands, Northern England, UK
  • /ˈfʊndə/ UK
  • /ˈθəndə/ UK, Wales
  • /ˈθʌndəɾ/ Scotland, UK
  • /ˈθʌndɚ/ US
  • /ˈθɐndə/ Australia, New Zealand

Sounds like funder (th-fronting) · Rhymes with -ʌndə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English thunder, thonder, thundre, thonre, thunnere, þunre, from Old English þunor (“thunder”), from Proto-West Germanic *þunr, from Proto-Germanic *þunraz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ten-, *(s)tenh₂- (“to thunder”).

Compare astound, astonish, stun. Germanic cognates include West Frisian tonger, Dutch donder, German Donner, Old Norse Þórr (English Thor), Danish torden, Norwegian Nynorsk tore. Other cognates include Persian تندر (tondar), Latin tonō, detonō, Ancient Greek στένω (sténō), στενάζω (stenázō), στόνος (stónos), Στέντωρ (Sténtōr), Irish torann, Welsh taran, Gaulish Taranis. Doublet of donner, Thunor, and Thor.

noun thunders

  1. countable, uncountable The loud rumbling, cracking, or crashing sound caused by expansion of rapidly heated air around a lightning bolt. Thunder is preceded by lightning.
  2. countable, uncountable A deep, rumbling noise resembling thunder. Off in the distance, he heard the thunder of hoofbeats, signalling a stampede.
  3. countable, uncountable An alarming or startling threat or denunciation. The thunders of the Vatican could no longer strike into the heart of princes.
  4. countable, obsolete, uncountable The discharge of electricity; a thunderbolt. The revenging gods / 'Gainst parricides did all their thunders bend.
  5. countable, uncountable Synonym of thunder word. Adam's fall and Vico's thunder are embodied in a word of a hundred letters, the first of ten thunders in the Wake.

    Similar: thunder word

thunder²

  • /ˈθʌndə/ British, UK, Southern
  • /ˈfʌndə/ UK
  • /ˈθʊndə/ Midlands, Northern England, UK
  • /ˈfʊndə/ UK
  • /ˈθəndə/ UK, Wales
  • /ˈθʌndəɾ/ Scotland, UK
  • /ˈθʌndɚ/ US
  • /ˈθɐndə/ Australia, New Zealand

Sounds like funder (th-fronting) · Rhymes with -ʌndə(ɹ)

Where it comes from

From Middle English thundren, from Old English þunrian (“to thunder”), from Proto-West Germanic *þunrōn, from Proto-Germanic *þunrōną (“to thunder”).

verb thunders · thundering · thundered · thunder

  1. impersonal To produce thunder; to sound, rattle, or roar, as a discharge of atmospheric electricity. It thundered continuously.
  2. intransitive To make a noise like thunder. The train thundered along the tracks.
  3. ergative To (make something) move very fast (with loud noise). Senseless years thunder by / Millions are willing to give their lives for you / Does nothing live on?
  4. intransitive, transitive To say (something) with a loud, threatening voice. "Get back to work at once!", he thundered.
  5. To produce something with incredible power. Just as it appeared Arsenal had taken the sting out of the tie, Johnson produced a moment of outrageous quality, thundering a bullet of a left foot shot out of the blue and into the top left-hand corner of Wojciech Szczesny's net with the Pole grasping at thin air.

Thunder³

proper noun

  1. The 13th sura (chapter) of the Qur'an.

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: boom, roaring, roar, thunderbolt, thundershower, storm, thunderstorm, lightning, round, mine, star, smashing, clearance, first-rate, sudden, rumble

Translations

Every language

noun sound caused by lightning

Españoltrueno
한국어우레 ure, 천둥 cheondung
日本語雷 kaminari, 雷鳴 raimei, 雷音 raion
中文雷 léi, 雷聲 /雷声 léishēng, 雷鳴 /雷鸣 léimíng
हिन्दीगरज garaj, गड़गड़ाहट gaṛagṛāhaṭ, राद rād, गर्जन garjan, मेघनाद meghnād
Kiswahiliradi
Portuguêstrovão
Françaistonnerre
DeutschDonner
Italianotuono
Ελληνικάβροντή vrontí
Românătunet
Русскийгром grom
Tiếng Việtsấm
العربيةرَعْد raʕd
עבריתרַעַם rá'am

noun sound resembling thunder

日本語雷鳴 raimei
中文轟鳴 /轰鸣 hōngmíng
हिन्दीगर्जन garjan
Portuguêstrovoada
DeutschDonnern
Italianorombo, schianto, boato
Ελληνικάκεραυνός keravnós
Русскийгром grom, гро́хот gróxot

noun deep, rumbling noise

Españolestruendo, fragor
日本語轟音 gōon
Portuguêsestrondo
DeutschDonnern
Italianofragore, frastuono
Русскийро́кот rókot

verb to make a noise like thunder

Españoltronar
한국어천둥이 울리다 cheondung'i ullida
日本語雷が鳴る kaminari ga naru, 轟音を立てる gōon o tateru
中文打雷 dǎléi
हिन्दीकड़कना kaṛaknā, गरजना garajnā
Portuguêstrovoar, trovejar
Françaistonner
Deutschdonnern
Italianotuonare
Românătuna
Русскийгреме́ть gremétʹ, грохота́ть groxotátʹ, громыха́ть gromyxátʹ
العربيةرَعَدَ raʕada
עבריתרעם ra'am

verb to talk with a loud, threatening voice

한국어고함치다 gohamchida
日本語怒鳴る donaru
Portuguêstrovejar
Françaistonitruer
Românătuna

verb transitive: say something with a loud, threatening voice

日本語怒鳴る donaru
Françaistonner, fulminer, tempêter
Românătuna

verb intransitive: speak with a loud, threatening voice

Françaistonitruer, tonner, fulminer, tempêter

name 13th sura of the Qur'an

العربيةسورة الرعد

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Cite this
MLA

"thunder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/thunder. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

thunder. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/thunder

Chicago

"thunder." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/thunder.

BibTeX
@misc{thunder_2026,
  title = {thunder},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/thunder},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}