# 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

* Aye-aye
* Bobolink
* Bobwhite
* Chachalaca
* Chickadee
* Chiffchaff
* Chuck-will's-widow
* Coquí
* Cuckoo
* Currawong
* Curlew
* Dickcissel
* Dik-dik
* Hadada
* Hoopoe
* Hoot owl
* Kea
* Killdeer
* Kiskadee
* Mopoke, morepork or boobook owl
* Pewee
* Pobblebonk
* Potoo
* Poorwill
* Spring Peeper
* Weero
* Whip-poor-will (Eastern)
* Whip-poor-will (Mexican)
* Willet

## 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
* Cha-cha-chá, a genre of Cuban music named for the sound of dancers' feet as they graze the floor
* 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
* 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