thud

/ˈθʌd/

//ˈθʌd// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"thud" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“thud” has 6 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #33,056. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#33,056
frequency rank, English
3,151
“T” headwords
6
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The sound of a dull impact.

Corpus desk

Index EN-thud · thud · English

thud · rank #33,056 · 6 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #33,056
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-1 1 vowel
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 6 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,151
  • PHOTO-FINISH thrower

Nearest frequency peer: thrower (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “thud”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “thud” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

thud vs Tu
25% similar
thud vs thy
50% similar
thud vs tub
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for thud
PropertyValue
Headwordthud
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈθʌd/
Letters4
Frequency rank#33,056
Misspellings tracked6
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “thud”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).thudlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “thrower” (#33,055), “tibia” (#33,057), “thoughtless” (#33,054). Among 3,151 “T” headwords, “thud” is #33,056. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 6 spelling variants around thud (IPA /ˈθʌd/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #33,056 among 3,151 “T” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 6 likely wrong-spelling variants for thud, with forms such as "htud", "thdu", and "thhud". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "Tu", "thy", "tub", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English thudden (“to strike with a weapon”), from Old English þyddan (“to strike, press, thrust”), from Proto-Germanic *þuddijaną, *þiudijaną (“to strike, thrust”), from Proto-Germanic *þūhaną, *þeuhaną (“to press”), from Proto-Indo-European *tū… The correct English form is thud, spelled T-H-U-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    The sound of a dull impact.
  2. 2
    A hard, dull impact.
  3. 3
    A slower, dull impact with a wide surface area.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how thud appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. These were but the thoughts of a second, but the voices were nearer, and I heard a dull thud far up the passage, and knew that a man had jumped down from the churchyard into the hole.
  2. Ramos had locked Salah’s right arm and turned him, judo-style, as they lost balance going for the same ball. Television replays hardened the suspicion it was a calculated move on Ramos’s part and, when Salah landed with a hell of a thud, the damage was considerable.

Etymology

From Middle English thudden (“to strike with a weapon”), from Old English þyddan (“to strike, press, thrust”), from Proto-Germanic *þuddijaną, *þiudijaną (“to strike, thrust”), from Proto-Germanic *þūhaną, *þeuhaną (“to press”), from Proto-Indo-European *tūk- (“to beat”). Cognate with Old English þoddettan (“to strike, push, batter”), Old English þȳdan (“to strike, stab, thrust, press”), Old English þēowan (“to press”), Albanian thundër (“a hoof, talon, a shaft", figuratively, "oppression, torment”).

This word in other languages

martèlement(Français)Bollern(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • htud
  • thdu
  • thhud
  • thudd
  • tthud
  • tuhd

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of thud - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

htud2thdu2thhud1thudd1tthud1tuhd2
Edit distance from "thud"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "thud"?
"thud" is spelled T-H-U-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈθʌd/.
What does "thud" mean?
As a noun, "thud" means: The sound of a dull impact.
What words are commonly confused with "thud"?
"thud" is commonly confused with "Tu", "thy", "tub". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "thud"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "thud" is /ˈθʌd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "thud"?
From Middle English thudden (“to strike with a weapon”), from Old English þyddan (“to strike, press, thrust”), from Proto-Germanic *þuddijaną, *þiudijaną (“to strike, thrust”), from Proto-Germanic *þūhaną, *þeuhaną (“to press”), from Proto-Indo-Eu... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "thud", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

trad#33,063wail#33,078spew#33,028whiz#33,087

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (6 here; floor ≥5).

tibia6 variantssuave6 variantssnub6 variantsafoot6 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list