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Definition of "thunderclap" [thun•der•clap]

  • A single sharp crash of thunder. (noun)
  • Something, such as a startling or shocking piece of news, that is similar to a crash of thunder in suddenness or violence. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "thunderclap" in a sentence
  • ""I think the thunderclap was the collapse of the Gate he came through.""
  • "And the thunderclap that opens the fourth movement didn't quite come off, in part because there wasn't a lot of dynamic contrast from one movement to another, and in part because the chord wasn't quite together."
  • "Sudden and decisive, like a thunderclap followed by a great rain that just kept going until it flooded the room with the collective approval of every person in the audience."