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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bling bling

the "sound" of light reflecting off shiny expensive objects, such as diamonds. this is a rare example of "non-auditory onomatopoeia". another example: shiiin

misc

blop

sound a large serving of mashed potatoes makes when it hits the plate (also a corresponding measurement of same) (ref)

food hit spoon

boop

A light tap or bump on the nose in a cute way. This word is an ideophone, meaning that it evokes the idea of sound to describe phenomena that do not necessarily have sound. While not technically onomatopoeia, it is used like onomatopoeia. know your meme

animal body meme

BWEEP bip bip BWEEP

U.S. city police siren in traffic (ref)

police tone alarm siren city car automotive

ca-chunk

sound of big metal-framed ink-stamps used by court clerks (ref)

metal hit

dunh dunh durrr

Sound of guitar strumming rock Reddit

dwoiiinnnnnnnngggggggig

sound of a ruler strummed against a table (ref)

plastic metal hit vibration

Eeyore

Eeyore is the name of the donkey from Winnie-the-Pooh. The name is onomatopoeia for the braying sound made by a donkey, typically written as hee haw in American English.
Eeyore

fart

(possibly of imitative origin, but debatable) English language vulgarism most commonly used in reference to flatulence. Onomatopoeia for farts have been suggested in various internet forums in response to questions of people who needed a word to describe the sound: eg. here and here. The suggested words include brrt, braaah, THPPTPHTPHPHHPH (Calvin and Hobbes), phhhhhhrt, PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP, pff, prtrtrtrgurtrufnasutututut, prrrt, PFFT!, PHHhhhh..., SPLPLPLLLP, WHOooooffff, poot, prrrrrrrvt, scraeft, ppppppwwarrrrppppp, pllllllllllllllllllllllllloooooooooooaaa..., RRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPP, fuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrt, thhhppbbbb, verrrrrrrrrnnnnnntttttt, hooooooooooooooooooooooooonk, pbpbpbpbp, frr frr frrrrrr rampooooooooo ag, pppppppptttttttttttttttttttttttt, flurpppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppppp... Also, according to many responders it depends on the fart (farting can make many possible sounds).

human gas

flatulence

See fart. (The word "flatulence" is not an onomatopoeia)

human gas

flumppf

sound of a wad of mail as it falls from a letter-box (ref)

paper movement hit

fwww - cluck

sound of a hockey puck hitting the net of the goal and then the ice (ref)

sports ice hockey hit

hhhhrrrrrrnnnnngggg

sound of the goal light and siren in a hockey game (ref)

sports hockey goal alarm siren tone

kaaapooooom

sound of a car running over a road safety bump (ref)

car automotive movement hit

kish-kish

the sound of ice skates during a game of hockey (ref)

ice movement human skating sports

NEE-eu NEE-eu

French police siren (ref)

police traffic siren tone alarm car automotive

nnneeaoowww

sound of a propeller plane flying overhead (ref)

plane movement engine

om nom nom

vocal sound produced while chewing big bites of something tasty in a hurry, like the way Sesame Street's cookie monster eats (end of clip). Here's another example. Find more chewing noises

eat_drink animal

pap

sound of a puck hit during hockey (ref)

sports hit hockey ice

penk

sound of an aluminum bat hitting a baseball (ref)

bat sports hit ball

piaaaak

sound of an automatic glass door opening (ref)

movement door

Plip - plip - ploop - plip - plip - plip - plip - ploop

sound of light summer rain hitting the roof (ref). More rain sounds

liquid water rain weather house

rizzz

sound of an electric drill (ref)

drill engine movement mechanism buzz

schwump schwump schwump schwump

sound of windshield wipers of a car during heavy rain (ref). More rain sounds. More car sounds

rain weather automotive liquid water

shuush, shuush

sound of skiing through the snow (ref)

movement snow sliding sports

sifaka

The sifaka is a genus of lemur found in Madagascar. The name is an onomatopoeia of their "shi-fak" alarm call. Wikipedia

animal africa

skrrreeek

sound of nails on a blackboard (ref)

nails human school scratch crack

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

ssinda, sssssinda

sound of an old dial telephone. Dialing 1 is "ssinda." Dialing 9 is "sssssinda." (ref ). More telephone sounds

movement telephone mechanism

stzsssssss

A beam of light. Poet Gino Severini referred to light as going 'szszszszszsz' and 'stzsssssss'. Willard Bohn, Modern Visual Poetry

light beam

szszszszszsz

A beam of light. Poet Gino Severini referred to light as going 'szszszszszsz' and 'stzsssssss'. Willard Bohn, Modern Visual Poetry

light beam

thisshig rrrerrk

sounds coming out of the loudspeaker in the subway during an important announcement (ref)

human voice electronic static noise crack

thwok

sound of a baseball, hitting a catcher's mitt (ref)

sports ball movement hit

tinker

Possibly of onomatopoeic origin, from the sound of light hammering on metal. Etymonline

tk.tk.tk.tk.tk.tk

sound of a dog's claws as he/she walks on a wooden floor (ref)

animal movement claw hit

waaank

sound of a train horn (ref)

horn tone alarm train

woop woop

Sound of a police car in the United States. Police often use the siren intermittently. Also spelled whoop whoop. This onomatopoeia is used in the chorus of the 1993 hip hop track Sound of da Police by KRS-One. Hear a police car

alarm tone music

yakyakyakyak

sound of a cat eating wet food (ref). More cat sounds

cat animal eatdrink food vocalization

zchunk

sound of a defibrillator (ref)

medical human electronic hit electric shock therapy heart attack


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