thunder

The word “thunder” means the deep rumbling or cracking sound that follows a lightning bolt, caused by rapidly heated air expanding. In plain terms, the booming sound that comes with a lightning storm — or, as a verb, to make a similarly loud, powerful noise or move forcefully.

“Thunder” is pronounced THUHN-duh (/ˈθʌndɚ/ in IPA).

Here is “thunder” used in a sentence: “A flash lit up the sky, and thunder followed a few seconds later.”

Depending on how it is used, “thunder” can be a noun and a verb.

The word “thunder” comes from Old English. From Old English þunor ("thunder"), the same root that gives us the Norse god Thor and the German word Donner.

“Thunder” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B1 level.

“Thunder” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the deep rumbling or cracking sound that follows a lightning bolt, caused by rapidly heated air expanding.

Lightning is the bright electrical flash you see during a storm. Thunder is the deep rumbling or cracking sound that follows, produced as the air heated by the lightning bolt expands rapidly.

Both are created at the same moment, but light travels much faster than sound. You see the lightning flash almost instantly, then hear the thunder a few seconds later because the sound takes longer to reach you.

Yes. As a verb, "thunder" can describe moving, speaking, or acting with great force, as in "the train thundered past" or "he thundered at the crowd." It transfers the loud, powerful quality of a storm to human or mechanical action.

"Thunder" is the general sound produced after lightning, which can roll on as a long rumble. A "thunderclap" is a single sudden, sharp burst of that sound rather than a drawn-out rumble.