Written Sound
Onomatopoeia Dictionary
Words that sound like the thing they mean: Imitative words. From the Greek "onoma" (name) and "poiein" (to make)
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aaugh

Exclaimation of dismay, commonly used, and originaly created by the Peanuts gang by Charles Schulz. Used frequently by Charlie Brown in the following situations: Losing a Baseball game, Having the football pulled away by Lucy, In an embarrassing situation. Also used by other members of the peanuts gang and can be used as a roaring sound to scare someone. 1) Linus: I told her about how you're madly in love with her, Charlie Brown: Aaugh!! 2) Snoopy: It's not the things that go 'bump' in the night that scare me. It's the things that go 'AAUGH!'. Urban dictionary

dismay pain embarrassment comics

bam

sound of a hard hit. Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

bamf

BAMF in the Marvel comic books represents the sound of X-Men character Nightcrawler when he transports himself. The sound is caused by air rushing into the area where Nightcrawler's body once was

misc gas movement

bang

sharp noise or hit. Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

bash

to strike heavily. Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

bazinga

interjection similar in meaning to fooled you! or gotcha! after a prank. It first appeared in the tv sitcom The Big Bang Theory and is used by the character named Sheldon. It probably comes from the word zing and ba and a may just have been added for added effect. See video of Bazinga!-moments

human television series comedy

beep

bird , automobile horn, or computer generated tone. "Beep beep!" is also the signature call of the Road Runner character (a bird) in the Looney Tunes cartoons. Find more tones

animal bird automotive tone

biff

sound of an uppercut punch. Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

bleat

1. to utter or play loudly or harshly, 2. the natural cry of a sheep, goat or calf 3. to talk complainingly or in a whining tone of voice

animal

boff

1. the sound of a hit or punch. Find more hit/ punch words 2. verb (slang) to have sexual intercourse (with someone) 3. noun (plural boffs), a big laugh 4. a line in a film etc that elicits such a laugh

hard_hit laughter

bomp

sound of a hit / punch ("Garfield", Jim Davis). Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

bong

sound of bouncing. from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

bonk

sound of something heavy hitting something else. Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

bop

sound of a hit / punch ("Garfield", Jim Davis). Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

bray

to utter the characteristic loud harsh cry of a donkey

animal

buffet

(possibly of imitative origin) blow. Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

bumblebee

A bumblebee (also spelled as bumble bee) is any member of the bee genus Bombus, in the family Apidae. They are characterized by are characterised by black and yellow body hairs, often in bands. Etymonline: 1520s, replacing M.E. humbul-be, alt. by assoc. with M.E. bombeln "to boom, buzz," echoic, from PIE base *kem "to hum," echoic.

bump

heavy dull blow, or its result (a swelling). Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

bwak

sound of a punch or kick. from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

bwok

sound of a punch or kick. from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

caterwaul

to make a harsh cry (like a cat in heat). More cat sounds

animal vocalization

chink

to make a sharp ringing sound

metal

chirr

the short vibrant or trilled sound, characteristic of an insect (as a grasshopper or cicada)

animal

clang

1. loud ringing metallic sound. For example clang or klang is often used for when an aluminum baseball bat hits the baseball 2. to clang, verb for harsh cry of a bird (as a crane or goose), 3. to clang, verb for the sound of fire bells (features in the poem "The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe).

hard_hit animal bird metal

clank

1. the sound of metal when struck, 2. to clank, verb for the sound made by a big engine (from the poem "engineers" by Jimmy Garthwaite, in Noisy poems by Jill Bennett)

hard_hit engine

clap

a sharp, forcible or resounding noise

hard_hit

clash

loud sound of collision followed by a confusion of lesser sounds

hard_hit

click

1. slight sharp sound, eg. camera making a photo. 2. nonvocal suction sound in some languages, 3. to talk noisily or rapidly. The sound made by dolphins is also called "clicking".
In the media: click it or ticket is the name and slogan of a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration campaign aimed at increasing the use of seat belts among young people in the United States. Also: "clunk click, every trip (click the seatbelt on after clunking the car door closed; UK campaign) and: "click, clack, front and back" (click, clack of connecting the seatbelts; AU campaign)

human animal automotive

clink

sound of metal when struck

hard_hit metal

clinker

very hard kind of brick, named after the sound produced when struck

hard_hit

clobber

sound of a hit / punch, verb: to batter severely. Find more hit / punch words

hard_hit

coo

bird , characteristic note of doves and pigeons

animal bird

crack

to make a sharp short noise

crack

crackle

1. To make a succession of slight sharp snapping noises: a fire crackling in the wood stove. 2. To show liveliness, energy, or intensity: a book that crackles with humor. 3. To become covered with a network of fine cracks; craze. v.tr. 1. To crush (paper, for example) with sharp snapping sounds. 2. To cause (china, for example) to become covered with a network of fine cracks.
in the media: Snap, Crackle, and Pop are the cartoon mascots of Kellogg's breakfast cereal Rice Krispies. They are named after the sound rice krispies make when they are dropped in a bowl of milk

crash

to dash to pieces, or the noise produced by it

hard_hit crack

creak

a harsh cry, sound of a rusty gate hinge, to speak stridently or querulously, or to make a shrill grating noise

metal crack

croaker

Common name for Sciaenidae, a family of fish. Also called drums or hardheads for the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make. The sounds are produced by the beating of abdominal muscles against the swim bladder. more

croup

throat-disease with a sharp, barking cough. imitative origin

human disease

d'oh

interjection used to express sudden recognition of a foolish blunder or an ironic turn of events, popularized by The Simpsons tv cartoon series, in which main character Homer uses it often. also: doh.

human

dakka

the sound produced by fully-automatic weapons in action. Use in computer gaming: Acquiring "more dakka" leads to a faster rate of bullet discharge and thus improves the player's overall chance of taking out hostiles ref

weapons

dickcissel

name of bird species (Spiza americana). small American seed-eating bird in the family Cardinalidae. voice: From an open perch in a field, this bird's song is a sharp "dick dick" followed by a buzzed "cissel", also transcribed as "skee-dlees chis chis chis" or "dick dick ciss ciss ciss". about this bird

animal bird

ding

sound of metal when struck

hard_hit metal

dirnt

Sound of a bass-guitar. From: Mike Dirnt, the bassist of the rock band Green Day. Dirnt's birth name is Michael Ryan Pritchard. According to Wikipedia, at school, he would would often play "air-bass", pretending to pluck the strings, while making the noise, "dirnt, dirnt, dirnt". As a result, his schoolmates began to call him "Mike Dirnt". See also Yahoo Answers. Related: wub wub, wob wob and other sounds of bass in dubstep music.

dong

sound of bouncing. from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
Find more bouncing words

hard_hit

doo-wop

style in vocal rhythm and blues music from the 1950-1960, in which ad-lib syllables such as "doo wop, doo wah" are sung in harmony link (video)

music

eastern whipbird

(Psophodes olivaceus) bird species found in eastern Australia. The Whipbirds' long "whip" call, one of the most characteristic sounds of the Australian bush, is performed as a duet. The male makes the drawn out whip crack and the female usually follows quickly with a sharp "choo-choo". about this bird

animal bird

fa-thud

sound of someone hitting the floor after falling

fighting punch hard_hit hit

fash

sound of fended off punch with the hand. from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama

hard_hit movement

flap

1. a blow, 2. noise of a bird's wing in motion, 3. to strike with something flexible or broad

hard_hit animal bird movement

flick

a light sharp jerky stroke or movement

light_hit movement

flog

to beat, thrash. Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

flop

to fall, collapse, with a dull or heavy sound

hard_hit

gabing

sound of a flying object hitting someone's head (Garfield, Jim Davis) Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

gasp

sound produced by victim of punch in the stomach. from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
the original word, meaning "to catch the breath convulsively and audibly (as with shock)" is not directly imitative

human hard_hit

glok

sound of a kick against someone's body (head, for example). from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

gobbledygook

(noun) jargon or highly intricate language that is hard to understand or incomprehensible. Comes from gobble, the vocalization of turkeys. Wikipedia

grunt

pig vocalization, the deep short sound characteristic of a hog

human animal

ha-ha-ha-HA-ha

emphasis on the fourth Ha (louder and higher pitch) and first three ha's gradually go up in pitch. signature laugh of cartoon character Woody Woodpecker. Youtube

HA-ha!

signature laugh of Nelson, a character from The Simpsons. Nelson is a bully at Bart Simpson's school, and he laughs at anyone who is in danger. His laugh is also written as "Haw-Haw!". link to sound



human laughter

har har!

laughter. sarcastic, as if sarcastically saying "very funny." or old fashioned hick laugh

laughter

harumph

Interjection, an expression of disdain, disbelief, protest, or dismissal; a huff, grunt, or snort. also: harumpf

interjection human

hiss

to make a sharp sibilant sound, produced by geese and snakes, or a cat (when angry/scared). More cat sounds

gas vocalization

hrrooonnh

this is one of several suggestions in response to the question of how to write the sound of a bull, on wiki-answers. also: muuhhhrrr, rrrruuuurrrr, moo, low, huuuooohar. if you need a verb: bulls "bellow" (not directly imitative)

animal

hummingbird

Hummingbirds are birds that comprise the family Trochilidae. They are among the smallest of birds. They can hover in mid-air and fly backwards, Their English name derives from the characteristic hum made by their rapid wing beats. more

animal bird

huuuooohar

this is one of several suggestions in response to the question of how to write the sound of a bull, on wiki-answers. also: rrrruuuurrrr, moo, low, hrrooonnh, muuhhhrrr. if you need a verb: bulls "bellow" (not directly imitative)

animal

jangle

to make a harsh metallic sound, or to cause to make a harsh discordant sound

metal

jar

1. harsh sound, 2. the sound of guns (in the poem "Lepanto" by G. K. Chesterton: "...For he heard drums groaning and he heard guns jar ..."

weapon crack hard_hit explosion

klam

sound of a punch/hit during a fight. from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

klok

sound of a kick against someone's body (head, for example). from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

klunk

sound of heavy metallic objects colliding

hard_hit

knack

sharp blow or sound

hard_hit

knell

sound of a bell struck or rung

hard_hit

knock-knock

sound of striking with a sounding blow. As in knocking on a door

hard_hit

kong

sound of food bowl hitting the head (dog (Odie) getting hit on the head with a food bowl, "Garfield", Jim Davis)

hard_hit

kwok

sound of an earthenware pot being smashed to pieces on the ground ("Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa", by Verna Aardema)

hard_hit

lash

1. to move violently or suddenly. also: to dash, 2. to thrash or beat violently, as in "the rain lashed at the windowpanes". More rain sounds

hard_hit movement movement weather

muuhhhrrr

this is one of several suggestions in response to the question of how to write the sound of a bull, on wiki-answers. also: rrrruuuurrrr, moo, low, hrrooonnh, huuuooohar. if you need a verb: bulls "bellow" (not directly imitative)

animal

oooaughoaua

coughing sound, used by a recurring character named Lorraine from the TV show Mad TV. She makes this sound when clearing her throat, also perhaps in disgust and/or satisfaction as well as in times of awkward silence to ease the tension. It is normally accompanied with a saying such as "god that's cute" while she unknowingly destroys the property of others when checking things out. Laymen can make this sound as well in their everyday life to add comedic relief to a conversation making references to Lorraine, as well as to describe something disgusting. Video: Clip 1, Clip 2, Clip 3.

human

pika

Pika, also repeated pikapika, is Japanese and means shiny or sparkly. It is an example of sound symbolism in Japanese. The name of the Pokemon character Pikachu comes from 'pika' here meaning the sound an electric spark makes, and 'chu', the sound a mouse makes.
Pikachu

light color

ping-pong

game of table-tennis, imitative origin

hard_hit light_hit

plonk

a dull striking sound

hard_hit

plump

heavy sound of landing

hard_hit

pock

dry hit, such as when a wooden baseball bat hits a baseball.

pop

sound of rapping, knocking, or explosive. in the media: Snap, Crackle, and Pop are the cartoon mascots of Kellogg's breakfast cereal Rice Krispies. They are named after the sound rice krispies make when they are dropped in a bowl of milk. Find more explosions.

explosion hard_hit light_hit

pow

sound of a blow / collision

hard_hit

puh-puh-puh

sound of pounding ("Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa", by Verna Aardema)

hard_hit

punt

sound of a kick (Garfield, Jim Davis)

hard_hit

rap

to strike, esp. with a quick, smart, or light blow

hard_hit light_hit

rataplan

Word imitating the sound of the side-drum and used for music pieces, especially in opera, of a military-march character.

music

ratatatat

sharp rapping sound repeated, often a machine gun. also : rat-a-tat; bratat

weapon explosion

rattle

1. rapid succession of short sharp sounds, 2. an instrument that makes a rattling noise

crack

rrrruuuurrrr

this is one of several suggestions in response to the question of how to write the sound of a bull, on wiki-answers. also: moo, low, hrrooonnh, huuuooohar, muuhhhrrr. if you need a verb: bulls "bellow" (not directly imitative)

animal

ruh-roh

First used by Astro on the cartoon The Jetsons and later by Scooby-Doo in the Scooby-Doo cartoon series; both characters are dogs who speak broken English with the insertion of many r's. Wiktionary

human animal

rump - rump

sound of a washing machine , "[Aredelia] found Starling in the warm laundry room, dozing against the slow rump-rump of a washing machine." (Thomas harris, Silence of the Lambs, 1988)

machine engine movement

scratch

to tear or mark a surface with something sharp or jagged

crack misc

shoop

sound of a karate kick/chop, also: swah / shwah. from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

shriek

to utter a loud sharp cry, screech

human animal

shwap

sound of a punch. from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

slam

to beat, shut with a noise

hard_hit

slap

smart blow as with the open hand. Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

smack

to separate wet lips while lightly sucking, thereby producing a sharp noise

liquid water kiss hug

snap

1. to make a cracking sound, eg. snapping your fingers, or a camera making a photo (sound of the shutter). in the media: Snap, Crackle, and Pop are the cartoon mascots of Kellogg's breakfast cereal Rice Krispies. They are named after the sound rice krispies make when they are dropped in a bowl of milk 2. the "sound" of someone's pride being hurt. this is another example of "non-auditory onomatopoeia". other examples: bling bling, yoink and shiiin

hard_hit light_hit crack music

snore

to snort, to make harsh noises through nose and mouth while sleeping

human animal

sock

sound of a punch to the face (Batman 1960s tv show). Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit punch fight

splat

landing with a smacking sound

hard_hit

spoing

sound of a piano landing on someone's head ("Garfield", Jim Davis)

hard_hit

strident

making a harsh noise

misc crack

stup

sound of landing (after a jump). also: tup. from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama

hard_hit

swah

sound of a karate chop. from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

swash

to dash violently, make a noise of clashing swords

hard_hit metal movement

tch, tch, tch

sound of chopping off branches of wood ("Sebgugugu the Glutton: A Bantu Tale from Rwanda", by Verna Aardema)

hard_hit light_hit

throb

(of the heart) to beat strongly

hard_hit

throkk

sound of a hit or punch (Batman comics) Find more hit/ punch words

thud

to hit with a dull sound

hard_hit

thump

1. to strike or beat with or as if with something thick or heavy so as to cause a dull sound, as in a punch during a fight, or the sound of heavy footsteps 2. a verb for sound made by a big engine, as in thumping, chunking engines going.. (from the poem "engineers" by Jimmy Garthwaite, in "Noisy poems" by Jill Bennett)

hard_hit engine

thung

sound of a blow to a metal object (features in a Roy Lichtenstein painting

hard_hit metal

thunk

sound of impact

hard_hit

thwack

the sound of flogging. Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

thwogg

sound of a kick against someone's body (head, for example). from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama
Find more hit/ punch words

tup

sound of landing (after a jump). from:
Dragon Ball Z Vol 1, by Akira Toriyama

hard_hit light_hit

veery

(Catharus fuscescens) bird species belonging to the larger group of thrushes. voice: Song a resonating, ethereal "da-vee-ur, vee-ur, veer, veer," descending slightly in pitch. Call note is a nasal "phew" or "veer" about this bird

animal bird

wakt

sound of a hit or punch (Batman comics). Find more hit/ punch words

wap

hit/blow. Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

whack

to strike sharply. Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

wham

a heavy blow. Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

whang

sound of a hit / punch (Garfield, Jim Davis). Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

whap

1. to throw one's self quickly, or by an abrupt motion; to turn suddenly; (eg. she whapped down on the floor; the fish whapped over), 2. to beat or strike, 3. a blow, or quick, smart stroke. Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

Whargharble

Sound of a canine syphoning drink from high-velocity hydropneumatic system, or sprinkler. Also: Wharrgarbl. Example, KnowYourMeme. Thanks, Joshua!

Animal liquid eat_drink water dog jet spray mouth

whock

sound of a hit / punch (Garfield, Jim Davis). Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

whooping cough

an infection of the respiratory system caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis (or B. pertussis). It's characterized by severe coughing spells that end in a "whooping" sound when the person breathes in

human disease

whop

to beat, strike. Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

whump

the sound of colliding bodies, a slamming sound, or the sound of a punch to the jaw. Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit

woah, oh, oh, oh!

signature laugh of cartoon character Elmer Fudd

laughter

woo-hoo!

signature laugh of cartoon character Daffy Duck, often uttered when Daffy has to escape from someone he has just pulled a prank on

laughter

yawp

1. to utter a sharp cry; yelp. 2. to talk loudly, raucously, or coarsely.

human human pain

yelp

a short, sharp cry of a dog. Find more dog vocalizations

animal

yuk yuk

laughter. similar in flavor to "har har", but more old fashioned and more hick

human laughter

zip

to travel with a sharp hissing or humming sound

movement

zlopp

sound of a man falling during a fight (Batman episode 13 season 1)

hard_hit hit punch fight fall

zonk

the sound of a karate chop. Find more hit/ punch words

hard_hit


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