This is a list of

onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia (or rarely echoism) is a type of word, or the process of creating a word, that phonetics, phonetically imitates, resembles, or suggests the sound that it describes. Common onomatopoeias in English include animal noises such as Oin ...

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, the sound of a sneeze * Ahem, a sound made to clear the

throat In vertebrate anatomy, the throat is the front part of the neck, internally positioned in front of the vertebrae. It contains the Human pharynx, pharynx and larynx. An important section of it is the epiglottis, separating the esophagus from the t ...

or to draw attention before speaking *

Burp Burping (also called belching and eructation) is the release of gas from the upper digestive tract (esophagus and stomach) of animals through the mouth. It is usually audible. In humans, burping can be caused by normal eating processes, or ...

, the sound of gas being expelled through the mouth * Chomp, the sound of someone biting down on food *

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

, the sound made when clearing the throat or

lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...

Hiccup A hiccup (scientific name singultus, from Latin for "sob, hiccup"; also spelled hiccough) is an spasm, involuntary contraction (myoclonic jerk) of the diaphragm (anatomy), diaphragm that may repeat several times per minute. The hiccup is an in ...

, a repeated, involuntary sound caused by a spasm of the diaphragm * Hum, a low, continuous sound * Sigh, a deep exhalation suggesting exhasperation * Slurp, the sound of someone drinking or eating * Yawn, the sound someone makes when they're tired or bored * Ow, Ouch, a short sound made when someone is in pain

Sounds made by devices or other objects

* Awooga, or Aooga, the sound of an old-fashioned vehicle horn * Beep, a high-pitched signal * Beep, beep, 1929 word for a car horn *

Ching Ching may refer to: People * Ching, a unisex given name ** Ching He Huang, a food writer and TV chef ** Ching Hammill (1902–1925), American football player ** Ching Johnson (1898–1979), Canadian National Hockey League player ** Willis August ...

, the sound of metal on metal *

Clink Clink may refer to: * The Clink, a historic prison in Southwark, England * The Clink (restaurant), British restaurants employing prisoners for rehabilitation * Prison, in general * CLINK, an algorithm for hierarchical clustering * Channel Link ...

, the sound of glass on glass *

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 l ...

, 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 l ...

*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 classi ...

Oom-pah Oom-pah, Oompah, Ooumpah or Umpapa is an onomatopoeic term describing the rhythmic sound of a deep brass instrument in combination with the response of other instruments or registers in a band, a form of background ostinato. The oom-pah soun ...

, the rhythmical sound of a deep brass instrument in a band * Ring, the sound made by an old telephone *

Slosh In fluid dynamics, slosh refers to the movement of liquid inside another object (which is, typically, also undergoing motion). Strictly speaking, the liquid must have a free surface to constitute a slosh dynamics problem, where the dynamics of t ...

, the sound of liquid moving inside a container * Splash, sound of water upon disturbance * Tick tick tick, sound of a

timer A timer or countdown timer is a type of clock that starts from a specified time duration and stops upon reaching 00:00. It can also usually be stopped manually before the whole duration has elapsed. An example of a simple timer is an hourglass ...

* Tick tock, sound of a clock * Twang, having the sharp, vibrating tone of a plucked string * Vroom, sound of an engine revving up * Zap, sound of an

electrostatic discharge Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a sudden and momentary flow of electric current between two differently-charged objects when brought close together or when the dielectric between them breaks down, often creating a visible electric spark, spark as ...

Things named after sounds

* Choo Choo, childish word for a train, after the sound of a steam locomotive *

Flip-flops Flip-flops are a type of light sandal-like shoe, typically worn as a form of casual footwear. They consist of a flat sole held loosely on the foot by a Y-shaped strap known as a toe thong that passes between the first and second toes and around ...

, a type of sandal * Khilkhilat, a type of ambulance in

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

for transporting newborn babies, meaning "Giggles" *

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 other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

, 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 other terms in various countries, including three-wheeler, Adaidaita Sahu, Keke-napep, Maruwa, auto, ...

in parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America *

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 from 2,000 to 20,000 Hertz, Hz. The name is derived from the high pitched sound ...

, 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 up to 200 Hz. The name is from the onomatopoeic English word for a dog's deep bark, " woof" (in contrast to a ' ...

, 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 Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger that they can use to catch grubs ...

* Bobolink * Bobwhite * Chachalaca * Chickadee * Chiffchaff * Chuck-will's-widow * Coquí *

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 somet ...

* Currawong * Curlew * Dickcissel * Dik-dik * Hadada * Hoopoe * Hoot owl *

Kea The kea ( ; ; ''Nestor notabilis'') is a species of large parrot in the Family (biology), family Strigopidae that is endemic to the forested and alpine regions of the South Island of New Zealand. About long, it is mostly olive-green, with br ...

* Killdeer * Kiskadee * Mopoke, morepork or boobook owl * Pewee * Pobblebonk *

Potoo Potoos (family (biology), family Nyctibiidae) are a group of birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. They are sometimes called poor-me-ones, after their haunting bird vocalization, calls. The family Nyctibiidae was formerly included with ...

* Poorwill * Spring Peeper * Weero * Whip-poor-will (Eastern) * Whip-poor-will (Mexican) * Willet

Animal and bird noises

For sounds listed by the name of the animal, see List of animal sounds. English words for animal noises include: * Baa: vocalization of sheep; "Baa, baa, black sheep" * Bark, sound of a dog * Bleat, 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 games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

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 two ...

*Gobble, a turkey call *

Growl Growling is a low, guttural vocalization produced by predatory animals; producing ''growls''. Growling or growl may also refer to: Sounds * Death growl, the dominant singing style in death metal music * Stomach rumble, Stomach growl, or borborygm ...

, low, guttural vocalization produced by predatory animals *Hiss, sound made by a snake * Honk, call of the male Canada goose *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 in terms of their sound, and what is heard can vary from being chattered to calls, murmurs, and whispers. Adult cats rarely meow to each other. Thus, an adult cat meowin ...

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

Purr A purr or whirr is a tonal fluttering sound made by some species of felids, including both larger, wild cats and the domestic cat (''Felis catus''), as well as two species of genets. It varies in loudness and tone among species and in the same ...

, a tonal, fluttering sound made by all members of the cat family * Quack, call of a duck *Ribbit, sound of some Pacific tree frogs or bullfrogs *

Roar A roar is a type of animal vocalization that is loud, deep and resonating. Many mammals have evolved to produce roars and other roar-like vocals for purposes such as long-distance communication and intimidation. These include various species of ...

, 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 (usually exceeding 200 bpm), complex chord progressions with rapid chord changes and numerou ...

, a style of jazz * Boom bap, a subgenre and production style of hip hop named after the sounds used for the bass and snare drums * Cha-cha-chá, a genre of Cuban music named for the sound of dancers' feet as they graze the floor *

Djent Djent () is a subgenre of progressive metal, termed for an onomatopoeia of the guitar sound that characterizes it. While sources such as ''The Guardian'' and ''Guitar World'' describe djent as a Music genre, genre, some notable musicians includi ...

, 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'', 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 (; ; , ; ) is the traditional musical ensemble, ensemble music of the Javanese people, Javanese, Sundanese people, Sundanese, and Balinese people, Balinese peoples of Indonesia, made up predominantly of percussion instrument, per ...

, brass instruments, also Humppa * Ratatat, a New York City experimental electronic rock duo * Ska, a style of music characterised by a walking bass line * 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, a fictional car in the film of the same name based on the children's novel by

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

, named for the unusual noise of its engine. * Clank, from the video game series '' Ratchet & Clank''. * Cock a doodle doo, from a nursery rhyme about a cockerel. * Kachi-kachi Yama, a

Japanese folktale Japanese folktales are an important cultural aspect of Japan. In commonplace usage, they signify a certain set of well-known classic tales, with a vague distinction of whether they fit the rigorous definition of "Oral tradition, folktale" or no ...

, 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 ...

'', sixth album by the Irish band U2. * Snap, Crackle and Pop, advertising mascots for branded cereal. * Tung Tung Tung Sahur, an Italian brainrot character which is an anthropomorphic wooden object resembling a mudgar who holds a baseball bat, named after a Sundanese onomatopoeia of how Indonesians traditionally beat drums to commence ''

suhur ''Suhur'', ''sahur'' or ''sahoor'' (; ), also called ''sahari'', ''sahri'', or ''sehri'' (), is the meal consumed early in the morning by Muslims before fasting ( sawm), before dawn during or outside the Islamic month of Ramadan. The meal is eat ...

.'' * '' Whaam!'', pop art painting drawing from onomatopoeia in superhero comics (in this case, an explosion). *

Wham! Wham! were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981 consisting of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They were one of the most successful pop acts during the 1980s, selling more than 30 million certified records worldwide from 1982 to ...

, a 1980s English musical duo formed by members

George Michael George Michael (born Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou; 25 June 1963 – 25 December 2016) was an English singer-songwriter and record producer. Regarded as a pop culture icon, he is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling rec ...

and

Andrew Ridgeley Andrew John Ridgeley (born 26 January 1963) is an English musician, best known for his work in the 1980s in the musical duo Wham! consisting of Ridgeley and George Michael. Associated with the MTV-driven Second British Invasion of the US, th ...

Sounds in fiction

* Bamf, the sound Nightcrawler makes when teleporting *Biff, Pow, Wham, Bam, Zap etc, used to represent punching an enemy in silver age superhero comic books, popularized by the 1966 Batman TV Series *Budda Budda Budda, commonly used in Marvel and DC comics to represent machine gun fire *Krakoom and Thoom, respectively the sound of thunder summoned by Thor's hammer Mjolnir and when the hammer physically hits a target *Pew-pew or pew-pew-pew, the sound of a laser gun in

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

*Shrrm, the sound of a lightsaber being ignited *Snikt, the sound of Wolverine's claws being extended *Thwip, the sound that

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

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

Minecraft ''Minecraft'' is a 2011 sandbox game developed and published by the Swedish video game developer Mojang Studios. Originally created by Markus Persson, Markus "Notch" Persson using the Java (programming language), Java programming language, the ...

teleporting *Vworp, the sound the

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

makes when it materializes

References

Lists of words Onomatopoeia {{pp-pc1