Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- v. To beat rapidly or violently, as the heart; pound.
- v. To vibrate, pulsate, or sound with a steady pronounced rhythm: boat engines throbbing.
- n. The act of throbbing; a beating, palpitation, or vibration.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- To beat or pulsate, as the heart, but with increased or quickened force or rapidity; palpitate.
- To quiver or vibrate.
- n. A beat or strong pulsation; a violent beating, as of the heart and arteries; a palpitation: as, a throb of pleasure or of pain.
Wiktionary
- v. To pound or beat rapidly or violently
- v. To vibrate or pulsate with a steady rhythm
- n. A beating, vibration or palpitation
GNU Webster's 1913
- v. To beat, or pulsate, with more than usual force or rapidity; to beat in consequence of agitation; to palpitate; -- said of the heart, pulse, etc.
- n. A beat, or strong pulsation, as of the heart and arteries; a violent beating; a papitation
WordNet 3.0
- n. a deep pulsating type of pain
- n. an instance of rapid strong pulsation (of the heart)
- v. tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement
- v. expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically
- v. pulsate or pound with abnormal force
Etymologies
- Middle English throbben, of imitative origin.
Examples
“The steady _throb -- throb -- throb_ of the propeller was again shaking the yacht as she took up her journey.”
The Pirate of Panama A Tale of the Fight for Buried Treasure
“As I stood waiting and listening for the enemy's order to attack, I could feel my heart go _throb, throb, throb, throb_, so hard that I seemed to be hearing it at the same time making a dull echo in my brain.”
“At last one word escaped from his lips, and in an instant -- _throb, throb, throb, throb_ -- there was a heavy beating on his ribs, a joyous whining sound greeted his ears, and a cold nose and wet tongue were playing about his face.”
“I'll be there steady ready to take up the fight of mother and daughter divided unsatisfied forever antagonistic cry sorrow let your ovary throb from the pain of my absence”
“And between the last ‘ob’ in the word throb and the words now written, I have passed a delicious period of perhaps an hour, perhaps a minute, I know not how long, thinking of that holy first love and of her who inspired it.”
“And between the last 'ob' in the word throb and the words now written, I have passed a delicious period of perhaps an hour, perhaps a minute, I know not how long, thinking of that holy first love and of her who inspired it.”
“a ruptured disk, the feet or knees whose throb is just the way it is.”
“I'm reaching the major changes stage, and trying to figure out how to make it all work makes my brain throb. (wum, wum, wum.)”
“Something uplifting in the criminal action of the girl so touched Frederick that the nearness of tears called a throb to his throat.”
“To this, as they went, every throb of her consciousness prompted her -- every throb, that is, but one, the throb of her deeper need to know where she”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘throb’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4084 more...
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Of Imitative Origin
Words formed in imitation of the sound of the things they signify.
bawl, biff, blizzard, blob, blooper, bob, boff, bomb, bonkers, boo, borborygmus, brouhaha and 148 more...
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Public List: Two by Fives
This is an experiment in public lists--something I've been thinking about for some time. The goal is to create a collection of short, powerful, evocative words.
This is an open list. A...icy, howl, hymn, thorn, fire, vile, mist, blunt, scum, dark, shot, gleam and 137 more...
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sound (quiet)
words for quiet sounds
( randomness, descriptive )sigh, murmur, whisper, whir, rustle, patter, hum, snap, hiss(sss), crackle, bleat, peep and 185 more...
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Words the sound like their meaning
love, hate, butterfly, whisper, shout, boil, simmer, glide, kiss, wisp, hum, hammer and 30 more...
bilby
When he takes the place of the gods,
And chaos is his and the years,
And the thunderous histories of worlds
Throb loud for his ears?
- Maxwell Anderson, 'Full Circle'.
Sep 21, 2009
yarb Citation on willowherb. Jun 22, 2008