thunderclap
Americannoun
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a crash of thunder.
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something resembling a thunderclap, as in loudness or unexpectedness.
noun
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a loud outburst of thunder
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something as violent or unexpected as a clap of thunder
Etymology
Origin of thunderclap
First recorded in 1350–1400, thunderclap is from Middle English thonder clappe. See thunder, clap 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Jack Dempsey was a human thunderclap, but hardly alone in that.
From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026
"On paper, this was another thunderclap quarter. And yet the stock dipped. The market is no longer pricing growth. It is pricing perpetuity."
From Barron's • Feb. 26, 2026
He remains a thunderclap from the baseline, but has options other than ferocious groundstrokes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 7, 2025
Reaser’s laugh erupts without warning, big and loud like a thunderclap; Harner’s is equally boisterous.
From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2025
This was because Aunt Gloria shouted it out like a thunderclap.
From "The London Eye Mystery" by Siobhan Dowd
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
