List of onomatopoeias

This is a list of onomatopoeias, 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 or to draw attention before speaking
Burp, the sound of gas being expelled
Chomp, the sound of someone biting down on food
Cough, the sound made when clearing the throat or lungs
Hiccup, a repeated, involuntary sound caused by a spasm of the diaphragm
Hum, a low, continuous sound
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, the sound of metal on metal
Clink, the sound of glass on glass
Fizz, sound of effervescence
Flutter, sound of rapid motion, e.g. aeroelastic flutter
Oom-pah, the rhythmical sound of a deep brass instrument in a band
Ring, the sound made by an old telephone
Slosh, the sound of liquid moving inside a container
Splash, sound of water upon disturbance
Tick tick tick, sound of a timer
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

Things named after sounds

Choo Choo, childish word for a train, after the sound of a steam locomotive
Flip-flops, a type of sandal
Khilkhilat, a type of ambulance in Gujarat for transporting newborn babies, meaning "Giggles"
Tuk-tuk, word for an auto rickshaw in parts of Asia, Africa, and Latin America
Tweeter, a high frequency loudspeaker named after a bird's shrill tweet
Woofer, a low frequency loudspeaker named after a dog's low bark

Animal and bird names

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, bird call
Chirp, sound made by rubbing together feet or other body parts, e.g. by a cricket or a cicada
Gobble, a turkey call
Growl, 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, cry of a cat
Moo, sound of a cow
Purr, 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, 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, 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
Djent, 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
Oom-pah, 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, 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, named for the crackling of a fire.
Rattle and Hum, sixth album by the Irish band U2.
Snap, Crackle and Pop, advertising mascots for branded cereal.
Whaam!, pop art painting drawing from onomatopoeia in superhero comics (in this case, an explosion).
Wham!, a 1980s English musical duo formed by members George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley.

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^[3]
Shrrm, the sound of a lightsaber being ignited
Snikt, the sound of Wolverine's claws being extended
Thwip, the sound that Spider-Man's web shooters make
Vwoop, the sound of an Enderman from Minecraft teleporting
Vworp, the sound the TARDIS makes when it materializes

References

^ https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coqu%C3%AD#Spanish ^{[bare URL]}
^ "Spring peeper". 6 January 2024.
^ "pew pew". Lexico. Oxford Dictionary. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2020.

[1] ttps://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/coqu%C3%AD#Spanish ^{[bare URL]}

[2] "Spring peeper". 6 January 2024.

[3] "pew pew". Lexico. Oxford Dictionary. Archived from the original on February 25, 2021. Retrieved 14 August 2020.

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