This is a list of

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is the process of creating a word that phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Such a word itself is also called an onomatopoeia. Common onomatopoeias include animal noises such as ''oink'', ''m ...

s, i.e. words that imitate, resemble, or suggest the source of the sound that they describe. For more information, see the linked articles.

Human vocal sounds

* Achoo, Atishoo *

Chomp Chomp is a two-player strategy game played on a rectangular grid made up of smaller square cells, which can be thought of as the blocks of a chocolate bar. The players take it in turns to choose one block and "eat it" (remove from the board), to ...

Cough A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages that can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex following three ph ...

Hiccup A hiccup (scientific name ''singultus'', from a Latin word meaning "to catch one's breath while sobbing"; also spelled hiccough) is an involuntary contraction ( myoclonic jerk) of the diaphragm that may repeat several times per minute. The hi ...

* Hum * Slurp

Sounds made by devices or other objects

* Awooga, or Aooga, the sound of an old-fashioned vehicle horn *Bang, the sound of an explosion or a gunshot *

Beep The Blocks Extensible Exchange Protocol (BEEP) is a framework for creating network application protocols. BEEP includes building blocks like framing, pipelining, multiplexing, reporting and authentication for connection and message-oriented pee ...

, a high-pitched signal * Beep, beep, 1929 word for a car horn *Boom, the sound of an explosion * Ching, the sound of metal on metal *Clang, a loud vibration or collision *Clatter * Clink, the sound of glass on glass *Crackle, the sound of wood burning *Crash, the sound of a heavy object falling or colliding *Creak, the sound a door makes when opening *Ding dong, the sound of a ringing bell *

Fizz Effervescence is the escape of gas from an aqueous solution and the foaming or fizzing that results from that release. The word effervescence is derived from the Latin verb ''fervere'' (to boil), preceded by the adverb ''ex''. It has the same lin ...

, sound of

effervescence Effervescence is the escape of gas from an aqueous solution and the foaming or fizzing that results from that release. The word effervescence is derived from the Latin verb ''fervere'' (to boil), preceded by the adverb ''ex''. It has the same li ...

*Flutter, sound of rapid motion, e.g.

aeroelastic flutter Aeroelasticity is the branch of physics and engineering studying the interactions between the inertial, elastic, and aerodynamic forces occurring while an elastic body is exposed to a fluid flow. The study of aeroelasticity may be broadly classif ...

*Honk, sound of a car horn; also used for the call of a goose *Kaboom, the sound of an explosion *Knock, the sound of a knuckle or a knocker lightly striking a door * Oom-pah, the rhythmical sound of a deep brass instrument in a band *Ping *Plop *Pop *Pow, the sound of a gunshot *Rumble *Screech, the sound of car tyres coming to a halt/standstill *Sizzle * Slosh *Snap, the sound of a twig breaking or wet wood on a fire * Splash, sound of water upon disturbance *Splat, the sound a tomato makes when it hits a hard surface *Squish *Swish *Tap *Thump * Tick tick tick, sound of a

timer A timer is a specialized type of clock used for measuring specific time intervals. Timers can be categorized into two main types. The word "timer" is usually reserved for devices that counts down from a specified time interval, while devices th ...

* Tick tock, sound of a clock *Toot * Vroom, sound of an engine revving up *Whirr *Whoosh, sound of the wind *Woo-wooo, the sound of a train whistle * Zap, sound of an

electrostatic discharge Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a sudden and momentary flow of electric current between two electrically charged objects caused by contact, an electrical short or dielectric breakdown. A buildup of static electricity can be caused by tribochar ...

Things named after sounds

* Choo Choo, childish word for a train, after the sound of a steam locomotive * Flip-flops, a type of sandal *

Tuk-tuk An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

, word for an

auto rickshaw An auto rickshaw is a motorized version of the pulled rickshaw or cycle rickshaw. Most have three wheels and do not tilt. They are known by many terms in various countries including auto, auto rickshaw, baby taxi, mototaxi, pigeon, jonnybee, bajaj ...

in parts of Asia and Africa *

Tweeter A tweeter or treble speaker is a special type of loudspeaker (usually dome, inverse dome or horn-type) that is designed to produce high audio frequencies, typically deliver high frequencies up to 100 kHz. The name is derived from the high ...

, a high frequency loudspeaker named after a bird's shrill tweet *

Woofer A woofer or bass speaker is a technical term for a loudspeaker driver designed to produce low frequency sounds, typically from 50 Hz up to 1000 Hz. The name is from the onomatopoeic English word for a dog's bark, " woof" (in contrast to th ...

, a low frequency loudspeaker named after a dog's low bark

Animal and bird names

Aye-aye The aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis'') is a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate. ...

Bobolink The bobolink (''Dolichonyx oryzivorus'') is a small New World blackbird and the only member of the genus ''Dolichonyx''. An old name for this species is the "rice bird", from its tendency to feed on cultivated grains during winter and migration. ...

Bobwhite ''Colinus'' is a genus of birds in the New World quail family, Odontophoridae. Members of the genus are commonly known as bobwhites. Species Extant species Fossil species * †''Colinus eatoni'' * †''Colinus suilium'' Brodkorb 1959 * † ...

Chachalaca Chachalacas are galliform birds from the genus ''Ortalis''. These birds are found in wooded habitats in the far southern United States (Texas), Mexico, and Central and South America. They are social, can be very noisy and often remain fairly c ...

Chickadee The chickadees are a group of North American birds in the tit family included in the genus '' Poecile''. Species found in North America are referred to as chickadees, while other species in the genus are called tits. They are small-sized bird ...

* Chiffchaff *

Chuck-will's-widow The chuck-will's-widow (''Antrostomus carolinensis'') is a nocturnal bird of the nightjar family Caprimulgidae. It is mostly found in the southeastern United States (with disjunct populations in Long Island, New York, Ontario, Canada and Cape C ...

Cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

Curlew The curlews () are a group of nine species of birds in the genus ''Numenius'', characterised by their long, slender, downcurved bills and mottled brown plumage. The English name is imitative of the Eurasian curlew's call, but may have been in ...

Dickcissel The dickcissel (''Spiza americana'') is a small seed-eating migratory bird in the family Cardinalidae. It breeds on the prairie grasslands of the Midwestern United States and winters in Central America, northern Colombia, and northern Venezue ...

Dik-dik A dik-dik is the name for any of four species of small antelope in the genus ''Madoqua'' that live in the bushlands of eastern and southern Africa. Dik-diks stand about at the shoulder, are long, weigh and can live for up to 10 years. Dik- ...

* Hadada *

Hoopoe Hoopoes () are colourful birds found across Africa, Asia, and Europe, notable for their distinctive "crown" of feathers. Three living and one extinct species are recognized, though for many years all of the extant species were lumped as a single ...

* Hoot owl * Kea *

Killdeer The killdeer (''Charadrius vociferus'') is a large plover found in the Americas. It was described and given its current scientific name in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. Three subspecies are described. Th ...

Mopoke The morepork (''Ninox novaeseelandiae''), also called the ruru, is a small brown owl found in New Zealand, Norfolk Island and formerly Lord Howe Island. The bird has almost 20 alternative common names, including mopoke and boobook—many of t ...

, morepork or boobook owl * Pewee * Pobblebonk * Poorwill *

Weero The cockatiel (; ''Nymphicus hollandicus''), also known as weiro (also spelt weero), or quarrion, is a medium-sized parrot that is a member of its own branch of the cockatoo family endemic to Australia. They are prized as household pets and com ...

* Whip-poor-will (Eastern) * Whip-poor-will (Mexican) *

Willet The willet (''Tringa semipalmata'') is a large shorebird in the family Scolopacidae. It is a relatively large and robust sandpiper, and is the largest of the species called "shanks" in the genus ''Tringa''. Its closest relative is the lesser yel ...

Animal and bird noises

For sounds listed by the name of the animal, see List of animal sounds. English words for animal noises include: *

Bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, e ...

, sound of a dog *

Bleat Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus ''Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated sh ...

, sound of a sheep *Buzz, sound of bees or insects flying *

Chirp A chirp is a signal in which the frequency increases (''up-chirp'') or decreases (''down-chirp'') with time. In some sources, the term ''chirp'' is used interchangeably with sweep signal. It is commonly applied to sonar, radar, and laser syste ...

, bird call *

, sound made by rubbing together feet or other body parts, e.g. by a

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

or a

cicada The cicadas () are a superfamily, the Cicadoidea, of insects in the order Hemiptera (true bugs). They are in the suborder Auchenorrhyncha, along with smaller jumping bugs such as leafhoppers and froghoppers. The superfamily is divided into tw ...

*Gobble, a turkey call * Growl, low, guttural vocalization produced by predatory animals *Hiss, sound made by a snake *Hoot, call of an owl *Howl, sound made by canines, especially wolves *

Meow A meow or miaow is a cat vocalization. ''Meows'' may have diverse tones and are sometimes chattered, murmured or whispered. Adult cats rarely meow to each other, so an adult cat meowing to human beings is probably a post-domestication exten ...

, cry of a cat *Moo, sound of a cow *

Purr A purr is a tonal fluttering sound made by some species of felids and two species of genets. It varies in loudness and tone among species and in the same animal. Felids are a family of mammals that belong to the order Carnivora and are inf ...

, a tonal, fluttering sound made by all members of the cat family *

Quack Quack, The Quack or Quacks may refer to: People * Quack Davis, American baseball player * Hendrick Peter Godfried Quack (1834–1917), Dutch economist and historian * Joachim Friedrich Quack (born 1966), German Egyptologist * Johannes Quack ...

, call of a duck *Ribbit, sound of some Pacific tree frogs or bullfrogs * Roar, deep, bellowing outburst made by various animals *Screech, high-pitched strident or piercing sound, as made by a screech owl * Tweet, sound of a bird * Woof, sound of a dog

Music groups or terms

Bebop Bebop or bop is a style of jazz developed in the early-to-mid-1940s in the United States. The style features compositions characterized by a fast tempo, complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerous changes of key, instrumen ...

, a style of jazz *

Djent Djent () is a subgenre of progressive metal characterised by its use of off-beat and complex rhythm patterns. Its distinctive sound is that of high-gain, distorted, palm-muted, down-tuned strings. The name "djent" is an onomatopoeia of this s ...

, a style of progressive metal named after the sound of a palm-muted guitar * Donk, a style of UK house music containing distinctive percussion sounds * Doof doof, Australian slang term describes electronic music heard at raves *''

Kecak ''Kecak'' (pronounced ("kechak"), alternate spellings: ''kechak'' and ''ketjak''), known in Indonesian as ''tari kecakilolahhe'', is a form of Balinese Hindu dance and music drama that was developed in the 1930s in Bali, Indonesia. Since i ...

'', part of a musical drama, is named after monkey chatter, and "chak" is also the sound of a struck bar percussion instrument as in a

gamelan Gamelan () ( jv, ꦒꦩꦼꦭꦤ꧀, su, ᮌᮙᮨᮜᮔ᮪, ban, ᬕᬫᭂᬮᬦ᭄) is the traditional ensemble music of the Javanese, Sundanese, and Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussive instruments. T ...

* Oom-pah, brass instruments *

Ratatat Ratatat ( ) is a Brooklyn-based electronic rock duo consisting of Mike Stroud (guitar, melodica, synthesizers, percussion) and producer Evan Mast ( bass, synthesizers, percussion). History Beginnings and first album, ''Ratatat'' (2001–200 ...

, a New York City experimental electronic rock duo * Wah-wah, the sound of altering the resonance of musical notes to extend expressiveness

Works, groups and characters named after sounds

* " Boum!", a song *

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...

, a car in film of the same name named for the unusual noise of its engine * Clank, from the famous video game series "Ratchet & Clank" *

Cock a doodle doo "Cock a Doodle Doo" (Roud 17770) is an English language nursery rhyme. Lyrics The most common modern version is: Cock a doodle doo! My dame has lost her shoe, My master's lost his fiddling stick And knows not what to do.I. Opie and P. Opie, ''T ...

, a nursery rhyme about a cockerel * Kachi-kachi Yama, a Japanese folktale, named for the crackling of a fire * ''

Rattle and Hum ''Rattle and Hum'' is a hybrid live/studio album by Irish rock band U2, and a companion rockumentary film directed by Phil Joanou. The album was produced by Jimmy Iovine and was released on 10 October 1988, while the film was distributed by ...

'', an album by the Irish band U2 *

Snap, Crackle and Pop Snap, Crackle and Pop are the cartoon mascots of Rice Krispies, a brand of breakfast cereal marketed by Kellogg's. History The gnome characters were originally designed by illustrator Vernon Grant in the early 1930s. The names are onomatopoeia ...

, advertising mascots for branded cereal * '' Whaam!'', pop art painting drawing from onomatopoeia in superhero comics (in this case, an explosion) *

Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling mor ...

, a 1980s English musical duo formed by members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley

Sounds in fiction

Bamf Bamf , originally Bampf, is an onomatopoeic term originating in comic books published by Marvel Comics, in particular those featuring the superhero Nightcrawler of the X-Men. The term is derived from the sound Nightcrawler makes when teleporti ...

, the sound Nightcrawler makes when teleporting *Pew-pew or pew-pew-pew, the sound of a laser gun in

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

*Snikt, the sound of Wolverine's claws being extended *Thwip, the sound that

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the Si ...

's web shooters make *Vwoop, the sound of an Enderman from

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a sandbox game developed by Mojang Studios. The game was created by Markus "Notch" Persson in the Java programming language. Following several early private testing versions, it was first made public in May 2009 before b ...

teleporting *Vworp, the sound the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior a ...

makes when it materializes

References

Lists of words Onomatopoeia {{pp-pc1