One syllable: Thud.
thuhd
/θʌd/
Thud is pronounced thuhd (/θʌd/). It has one syllable (Thud), with the stress on "Thud". Thud is a short, dull, heavy sound produced by a fall or impact, often implying a lack of resonance or force. It denotes a low-frequency, non-tingling noise, typically heard when something heavy lands or strikes with little bounce. The word can also describe the effect of such impact on the surroundings, like a thud through a door.
nounThud is a short, dull, heavy sound produced by a fall or impact, often implying a lack of resonance or force. It denotes a low-frequency, non-tingling noise, typically heard when something heavy lands or strikes with little bounce. The word can also describe the effect of such impact on the surroundings, like a thud through a door.
"A book fell off the shelf with a loud thud."
"The door closed with a muffled thud."
"We heard a dull thud as the package hit the floor."
Pronounce it as /θʌd/. Start with the voiceless dental fricative /θ/ (tip of the tongue near the upper teeth, airflow between tongue and teeth). Then the open back rounded /ʌ/ vowel (like the 'u' in 'strut' in US English). Finish with the voiced alveolar stop /d/ (tip of the tongue against the upper gum ridge). The word is one syllable with primary stress on the only syllable. Listen for a quick, clipped ending. Audio reference: try Cambridge or Forvo pronunciations of /θʌd/ as a real-world check.
Two common mistakes are substituting /θ/ with /f/ or /t/ and pronouncing the vowel as /ɜ/ or /ə/ instead of /ʌ/. The /θ/ sound is made with the tongue gently between the teeth and breathy, not a hard /t/ or /d/-like sound. Ensure you start with light air from the teeth and not a hard hiss. For the vowel, keep the relaxed lax /ʌ/ as in 'strut' rather than an over-closed or stretched vowel. Finally, end with a crisp /d/ rather than a de-voiced or whispered variant.
Across US/UK/AU, /θ/ remains consistent as a dental fricative in all three, but the following /ʌ/ vowel can shift slightly: US often has a mid-central /ʌ/ with a slightly shorter duration; UK may show a tighter jaw and a crisper /d/; Australian speakers sometimes reduce the vowel slightly toward /ɐ/ or /ə/ depending on regional variation. Rhoticity doesn’t affect this word since it’s non-rhotic for /θ/ onset, but overall rhythm and aspiration can vary with tempo and stress in connected speech.
The difficulty lies primarily in producing the voiceless dental fricative /θ/ accurately and keeping the short /ʌ/ vowel from slipping toward /ɪ/ or /ɒ/ in faster speech. The /θ/ requires precise tongue placement with controlled airflow; many learners substitute with /t/ or /f/. The final /d/ must be voiced crisply, not as a whispered or aspirated sound. Practicing with minimal pairs and slow, controlled articulation helps align tongue position and timing.
A practical quirk is the subtle tongue position during /θ/: the tip lightly touches the back of the upper teeth, with the blade of the tongue gently venting air. In many dialects, you’ll hear a tiny aspiration or a very short vowel before the /d/ in rapid speech; keeping the /d/ clean and unvoiced is key. Also, watch for over-aspiration of /θ/ when you’re anxious or speaking loudly; relax jaw and lips to keep a crisp, single-syllable output.
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Thud comes from the English onomatopoeic root imitating a heavy, dull impact. The word likely originated in the 14th–15th centuries, evolving from senses associated with sound and impact. Early forms appear in Middle English texts to describe the noise produced by heavy objects striking a surface. Over time, the meaning narrowed to emphasize the weight and abruptness of a fall or collision, rather than any musical or lively sound. The repetition of the ‘d’ consonant at the end reinforces the abrupt, clipped character of the sound. The word has remained relatively stable in meaning, though its usage broadened to describe impacts in everyday situations, from doors and bodies to machinery and paraphernalia. In modern usage, thud is primarily an onomatopoeic noun and frequently appears in narrative contexts to convey weight, gravity, or sudden cessation of motion. First known use is attested in Middle English literature and legal records that mention loud, abrupt noises with minimal reverberation.
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Words that rhyme with "Thud"
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