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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atchoo

sound of sneezing. More sneezing sounds

human disease

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

boom

1. deep, hollow sound, explosion. Find more explosion words 2. verb for the sound produced by the (male) bittern, a bird species, to attract the females and establish their territory. each male has a unique voice. the boom of the male bittern is the lowest-pitched and the most far-carrying song produced by any European bird. it is written as "oonk-a-lunk" or "punk-er-lunk" and can be heard up to 5 km away in the right weather conditions. about this bird

explosion animal bird

chitter

to twitter or chatter (high-pitched sounds), like a bird, or raccoon

animal bird

clackety-clack

sound of a train sound of a train riding on a railroad switch or joint (Song of the train by David McCord, in Noisy poems by Jill Bennett). also: clickety-clack

metal engine

clickety-clack

sound of a train sound of a train riding on a railroad switch or joint (Song of the train by David McCord, in Noisy poems by Jill Bennett), see also clackety-clack

metal movement engine

didgeridoo

(probably of imitative origin) indigenous Australian instrument, of imitative origin. link (video)

music

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.

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 phoebe

(Sayornis phoebe) small passerine bird. This tyrant flycatcher breeds in eastern North America, although its normal range does not include the southeastern coastal USA. It is migratory, wintering in the southernmost USA and Central America. Voice: Song is two rough, whistled notes, "fee-bee" with the second note rasping or with a stuttered, more whistly second note "fee-b-be-bee." Call note a clear chip. about this bird

animal bird

fanfare

(probably of imitative origin) a flourish of brass instruments. link (video)

music

fizz

1. A hissing or bubbling sound. 2. Effervescence.3. An effervescent / carbonated beverage
"plop, plop, fizz, fizz" used to be the slogan in Alka Seltzer commercials for many years. 4. 2. informal ( often foll by out ) to fail or die out, esp after a promising start. Also spelled as fizzle

explosion gas liquid eat_drink water

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

great kiskadee

passerine bird (Pitangus sulphuratus) found in southern Texas and middle and south america. this bird is a flycatcher. the voice is described by some sources as dee-kis-ka-dee, by others as BEE-tee-WEE. The latter gives the bird its name in different languages and countries: In Brazilian Portuguese the birds name is bem-te-vi, or bien-te-veo (spanish) meaning ("I've spotted you!"). In El Salvador the bird is known as Cristofue, and in Paraguay as pitogue. In French it is called tyran quiquivi. link1, link2, video

animal bird

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

hoopoe

name of bird species. imitative origin, but the hoopoe's call is actually a trisyllabic "oop-oop-oop". link (video)

animal bird

jee je je jeee

(automotive) clutch release bearing on the way out. Cartalk

engine automotive

jingle

1. to make a light clinking or tinkling metallic sound, 2. to rhyme or sound in a catchy repetitious manner 3. brief musical tune to mark the beginning of a show or segment of a show

metal music

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

oomph

1. strength, power (you need to put more oomph in your story) 2. sex appeal 3. a low pitched grunting or thudding sound (Oomph! grunted the boxer when punched in the gut).

human conversation power hit

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

ow-wow-wow-wow

Fox vocalization. It sounds like a quick series of very high pitched barks. Popular Science

pickle-pee

sound of a fife ("the ceremonial band" by James Reeves, in "Noisy poems" by Jill Bennett). a fife is a small, high-pitched, transverse flute that is similar to the piccolo, but louder and shriller due to its narrower bore

music

pip

1. to peep or chirp, as a chick does. 2. A short, high-pitched radio signal 3. pip-pip-pip: sound of footsteps ("Misoso: Once Upon a Time Tales from Africa", by Verna Aardema)

animal bird movement

plop

sound such as that of an object dropping into water with not that much of a splash. "plop, plop, fizz, fizz" used to be the slogan in Alka Seltzer commercials for many years.

liquid

scratch

to tear or mark a surface with something sharp or jagged

crack misc

screamer

any of a group of South American bird species (Horned Screamer, Crested Screamer, and Black-necked Screamer) with a loud high-pitched call, which may explain the name. about this bird

animal bird

screech

1. a high shrill piercing cry usually expressing pain or terror, 2. the high pitched sound the tires of a car make when it turns at high speed

human human pain animal engine automotive movement crack

scritch

a screech

human animal crack

skrrreeek

sound of nails on a blackboard (ref)

nails human school scratch crack

sneeze

to make an explosive noise to clear the nostrils, probably of imitative origin, see also atchoo

human disease animal

sob

to catch the breath convulsively, usually when crying

human

t'chi

sound of an arrow being shot from a bow ("Sebgugugu the Glutton: A Bantu Tale from Rwanda", by Verna Aardema)

weapon

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

thwok

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

sports ball movement hit

thwoorp

Sound produced by quickly opening a folding fan. Urban Dictionary. Made famous by drag queen Katya Zamolodchikova

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

vreeeeeeeeeeeeeeew

Sound of a whistle of an old steam locomotive. This is a high-pitched one. A lower-pitched one might do "vroo-vroo"

air engine movement

vroo-vroo

Sound of a whistle of an old steam locomotive. This would be a low-pitched one. A high-pitched one would be more like "vreeeeeeeeeeeeeeew"

gas movement engine

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

wubba lubba dub-dub

Catchphrase used by Rick from the cartoon Rick & Morty Fandom

zing

a shrill humming sound, such as from a bullet or vibrating string. As a verb: to move very quickly, especially while making a high pitched sound. As a noun used figuratively, meaning zest, vitality, or (in cuisine) spicy flavor. In comedy, zing is sometimes used as an interjection to acknowledge a witty comeback. The witty comeback itself is then called a zinger.

misc metal movement


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