Written Sound
Onomatopoeia Dictionary
Words that sound like the thing they mean: Imitative words. From the Greek "onoma" (name) and "poiein" (to make)
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batabatabata

sound of a helicopter. Find all helicopter sounds

engine helicopter movement

beep beep beep beep beep beep whirrrffftt bonk

Sound of a forklift (From Diggers go by Steve Light). All caps in the book BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP WHIRRRFFFTT BONK

engine lift truck automotive

beep beep beep beep screeeech ruuurrrump pa-lump

Sounds made by a dump truck (Diggers go by Steve Light, all caps in the book BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP SCREEEECH RUUURRRUMP PA-LUMP

truck dump rubble dirt stone sand engine

blare

loud sound

music misc tone engine

bllgh blllgggh blllllgggghh

(automotive) sound of boiling coolant Cartalk

engine automotive liquid water

boooOOOOOOooo

(automotive) sound of a bad turbo. Cartalk

engine automotive

brum-brum-brum-brum-brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Sound of a chainsaw

bwwob bwwwobbubwub

Sound of a car engine low on coolant Cartalk

automotive engine

chakk-chackk-chak-chak, chak-a-chak-akk-chk-chk-chk

sound of a helicopter. Find all helicopter sounds

engines helicopter movement

choo-choo

small children's word for train (steam engine)

engine

chooga chooga chooga

steam engine or train. Click here for more train sounds

engine movement

chug

a dull explosive sound made by or as if by a laboring engine

engine

chug chugchug chugchug mmmoooosh

sound of a steamroller (Diggers go by Steve Light. All caps in the book CHUG CHUGCHUG CHUGCHUG MMMMOOOOSH)

engine equipment road

CHUGGA chugga chugga CHUGGA chugga chugga CHOO CHOOOOOOO

steam engine or train. from this book:
Trans go, by Steve Light
Click here for more train sounds

machine movement

chumma chumma chumma, hufft hufft, falump

Sounds made by an excavator (From Diggers go by Steve Light). In the book all caps CHUMMA CHUMMA CHUMMA, HUFFT HUFFT FALUMP

engine metal digging

chunk

to chunk, a verb for sound made by a big engine, as in thumping, chunking engines going.. (from the poem "engineers" by Jimmy Garthwaite, in "Noisy poems" by Jill Bennett)

engine

clackety-clack

sound of a train sound of a train riding on a railroad switch or joint (Song of the train by David McCord, in Noisy poems by Jill Bennett). also: clickety-clack

metal engine

clank

1. the sound of metal when struck, 2. to clank, verb for the sound made by a big engine (from the poem "engineers" by Jimmy Garthwaite, in Noisy poems by Jill Bennett)

hard_hit engine

clickety-clack

sound of a train sound of a train riding on a railroad switch or joint (Song of the train by David McCord, in Noisy poems by Jill Bennett), see also clackety-clack

metal movement engine

dubdubdubdubdubdub

Sound of a helicopter. Find all helicopter sounds

engine helicopter movement

flac-flac-flac

sound of a helicopter. Find all helicopter sounds

engines helicopter movement

floovb, floovb, vwomp, vwomp

sound of a bad tire of a car. Cartalk

automotive engine movement rubber

grrrakka kkakkakkakkakkakkakk akkakkakk kkakka akk

Sounds made by a jackhammer (From Diggers go by Steve Light). In the book all caps GRRRAKKA KKAKKAKKAKKAKKAKKAKK AKKAKKAKKAKK AKKAKKAKK AKKA KKAKKA AKK

engine metal

gulla, gulla, glugluglugluglug

sound of a bad axle, in a car (Cartalk)

automotive car engine metal

gunko, gunko

sound of wagon wheels ("Pedro and the padre", by Verna Aardema)

engine

hissssssssss ssss ss

(automotive) sound a of a failing brake booster

engine automotive

jee je je jeee

(automotive) clutch release bearing on the way out. Cartalk

engine automotive

koink

sound of squeezing a can of oil to lubricate something ("Garfield", Jim Davis)

metal engine liquid

nnneeaoowww

sound of a propeller plane flying overhead (ref)

plane movement engine

nnnghuh nnnguh

Sound of a broken power steering pump in a car Cartalk

automotive engine

potato-potato-potato

Sound of a poorly running motorcycle engine. The sound emphasis is on the 'p' and 't' rather than the vowels. Janet writes: "My sister used the above expression to describing a problem she had on starting a new motorcycle - it was jerking along as if it had 'kangaroo juice' in the tank. She assumed a "Gangnam Style" stance and dance to illustrate it, while saying "there I was going 'potato-potato-potato' - what a show-up!" She says that this expression is often used within her group of motorcycling friends, usually in connection with novice riders, although it may be in use more widely across the UK. The sound emphasis seems to be on the 'p' and 't' rather than the vowels." (thanks Janet!)

engine movement

puhVRooPuhHoo puhVROOpuhHOO

Sound of an engine misfire in a car Cartalk

automotive engine

pump

(possibly of imitative origin) mechanical device for raising/moving water or gas

engine liquid

rizzz

sound of an electric drill (ref)

drill engine movement mechanism buzz

rooaaarrr

sound of a car when driving fast

engine automotive movement

RRUUMBLE SCRUNCH SCRUUMBLE SCRUUUNCHH

Sounds made by a bulldozer. From:
Diggers go, by Steve Light

construction equipment machine heavy engine

rump - rump

sound of a washing machine , "[Aredelia] found Starling in the warm laundry room, dozing against the slow rump-rump of a washing machine." (Thomas Harris, Silence of the Lambs, 1988)

machine engine movement

screech

1. a high shrill piercing cry usually expressing pain or terror, 2. the high pitched sound the tires of a car make when it turns at high speed

human human pain animal engine automotive movement crack

skwee brrumm brrumm skoooooo skooooo

Sounds made by a front loader (Diggers go by Steve Light, all caps in the book SKWEE BRRUMM BRRUMM SKOOOOOO SKOOOOO)

engine rubble sand stone dirt metal

thith-thith-thith

sound of a helicopter. Find all helicopter sounds

engine helicopter movement

thump

1. to strike or beat with or as if with something thick or heavy so as to cause a dull sound, as in a punch during a fight, or the sound of heavy footsteps 2. a verb for sound made by a big engine, as in thumping, chunking engines going.. (from the poem "engineers" by Jimmy Garthwaite, in "Noisy poems" by Jill Bennett)

hard_hit engine

tocotocotoco

sound of a helicopter. more helicopter sounds

engine helicopter movement

tuckaTHUCKtuckaTHUCKtucka

sound of engine knocking. Car Talk

automotive engine metal

tuk-tuk

Common name for auto rickshaw, imitative of the sound of the small two-stroke engine (thailandtuktuk.net). Also called trishaw, auto, rickshaw, autorick, bajaj, rick, tricycle, mototaxi, or baby taxi.

engine automotive

varoom

sound of a fast driving car or an explosion (Also the title of a Roy Lichtenstein painting. Find more explosions.

explosion engine automotive movement

vooRRRR, vooRRR, vooRRR

engine revving up and down Cartalk

automotive engine

vreeeeeeeeeeeeeeew

Sound of a whistle of an old steam locomotive. This is a high-pitched one. A lower-pitched one might do "vroo-vroo"

air engine movement

vroo-vroo

Sound of a whistle of an old steam locomotive. This would be a low-pitched one. A high-pitched one would be more like "vreeeeeeeeeeeeeeew"

gas movement engine

vroom

sound of a car

engine automotive movement

wher, wher, wher

Sound of a chainsaw being started

wood engine saw

whirr

to move swiftly with a vibratory sound, eg of a small electric motor, electronic film transport in an analog photo camera.

engine movement

whop whop whop

sound of a helicopter. Find more helicopter sounds

engines helicopter movement

whumpa-whumpa-whumpa-whumpa

sound of a helicopter. Find more helicopter sounds

engines helicopter movement

whup-whup-whup

sound of a helicopter. Find more helicopter sounds

engines helicopter movement

woh woh woh woh

(automotive) sound of a bad bearing in the timing belt tensioner

engine automotive

wuppa wuppa

sound of a helicopter. Find more helicopter sounds

engines movement helicopter

YEEeeEEeeEEeeEEeeEEee!

Sound of a loose belt in a car engine Cartalk

automotive engine

zoom

to speed along with a low hum or buzz. also: to focus a camera on an object using a zoom lens (to 'zoom in' or 'zoom out'), also imitative of sound when motorized.

engine movement

ZOOOSH ZOOOSH ZOOOOOOOSH DING DING DING

diesel train. from this book:
Trans go, by Steve Light
Click here for more train sounds

locomotive antique old engine


Search tips:

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