Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The crashing or booming sound produced by rapidly expanding air along the path of the electrical discharge of lightning.
  • noun A sound that resembles or suggests thunder.
  • intransitive verb To produce thunder.
  • intransitive verb To produce sounds like thunder.
  • intransitive verb To move while making a loud noise.
  • intransitive verb To utter loud, vociferous remarks or threats.
  • intransitive verb To express violently, commandingly, or angrily; roar.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To give forth thunder; resound with thunder; formerly, to lighten (and thunder): often used impersonally: as, it thundered yesterday.
  • To make a sound resembling thunder; make a loud noise, particularly a heavy sound of some continuance.
  • To utter loud denunciations or threats.
  • To emit with or as with the noise of thunder; utter with a loud and threatening voice; utter or issue by way of threat or denunciation.
  • To lay on with vehemence.
  • noun The loud noise which follows a flash of lightning, due to the sudden disturbance of the air by a violent discharge of electricity through it.
  • noun The destructive agent in a thunder-storm; a discharge of lightning; a thunderbolt.
  • noun Any loud resounding noise: as, thunders of applause.
  • noun An awful or startling denunciation or threat.
  • noun As an exclamation, an abbreviation of by thunder, a mild oath. Compare thunderation.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To emit with noise and terror; to utter vehemently; to publish, as a threat or denunciation.
  • noun The sound which follows a flash of lightning; the report of a discharge of atmospheric electricity.
  • noun obsolete The discharge of electricity; a thunderbolt.
  • noun Any loud noise.
  • noun An alarming or statrling threat or denunciation.
  • noun (Zoöl.) The American bittern or stake-driver.
  • noun [R.] a lightning rod.
  • noun (Zoöl.) A small reddish ground snake (Carphophis amœna syn. Celuta amœna) native to the Eastern United States; -- called also worm snake.
  • noun a fulgurite. See Fulgurite.
  • intransitive verb To produce thunder; to sound, rattle, or roar, as a discharge of atmospheric electricity; -- often used impersonally.
  • intransitive verb Fig.: To make a loud noise; esp. a heavy sound, of some continuance.
  • intransitive verb To utter violent denunciation.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun The sound caused by the discharge of atmospheric electrical charge.
  • noun A sound resembling thunder.
  • noun A deep, rumbling noise.
  • verb intransitive To make a noise like thunder.
  • verb intransitive To talk with a loud, threatening voice.
  • verb transitive To say (something) with a loud, threatening voice.
  • verb To produce something with incredible power

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a deep prolonged loud noise
  • noun street names for heroin
  • verb be the case that thunder is being heard
  • verb move fast, noisily, and heavily
  • verb to make or produce a loud noise
  • noun a booming or crashing noise caused by air expanding along the path of a bolt of lightning
  • verb utter words loudly and forcefully

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English thonder, from Old English thunor; see (s)tenə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old English þunor, from Proto-Germanic *þunraz, from *þen, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)tenh₂- (“to thunder”). Germanic cognates include West Frisian tonger, Dutch donder, German Donner. Other cognates include Persian تندر (tondar), Latin tonō.

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Examples

Comments

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  • The thunder scared the heck out of my dog.

    February 15, 2007

  • There was a stormy night last week.

    February 15, 2007

  • Thunder makes noise

    February 15, 2007

  • What starts the thunder overhead?

    Who makes the crashing noise?

    Are the angels falling out of bed?

    Are they breaking all their toys?

    - Louis Untermeyer, 'Questions At Night'.

    November 17, 2008

  • ...who ever with a frolic welcome took

    The thunder and the sunshine, and opposed

    Free hearts, free foreheads

    ...

    December 17, 2010