100+ Onomatopoeia Examples in English | List of Onomatopoeia Words with Pictures

When looking at the English language you will sooner or later find yourself confronted by the word ‘onomatopoeia.’ Although this looks like a very challenging word that must surely carry a complicated meaning, in reality, it is the complete opposite. We are going to take a look at what exactly onomatopoeia is and how it can be used. We are also going to look at a comprehensive list of words that are classed into this onomatopoeia category.

What Is Onomatopoeia?

In short, onomatopoeia is when a word’s sound resembles the sound which it is describing. For example, the word sizzle is a form of onomatopoeia because the sound that the word makes actually sounds like a sizzle.

You can think of onomatopoeia almost like a sound effect. When the word is said, the sound that it makes sounds like the thing it is talking about. These words can give a more detailed description of an item or a situation by actually allowing the listener to hear the sound of what is being talked about.

Many onomatopoeic words fall into groups depending on what it is they are describing, for example, words such as splash, drip, drizzle and splosh can all be used to describe water and therefore are grouped together.

Onomatopoeia Examples

Let’s take a look at some examples of onomatopoeia to further explain how it can be used in a sentence or conversation.

One of the most common uses for onomatopoeia is within written text such as fiction or descriptive work. It enables the writer to give a more in-depth and understandable description on something. For example, the sentence:

• ‘The wind blew through the trees’ could become ‘the wind whistled through the trees.’

The word whistled being the onomatopoeic word in this case.

Another common way to use onomatopoeia is to describe the sound which are made by animals. For example rather than saying;

• ‘The duck made a sound.’ you could say ‘The duck went quack.’

In this case the word quack is the onomatopoeia in this sentence.

Here are some more onomatopoeia examples being used in a sentence, the onomatopoeic words will be highlighted in bold.

• The flood water gushed through the town.
• The owl hooted in the tree.
• At night, the wind was howling in the darkness.
• My teeth chattered as I stood in the snow.
• The corn went pop in the microwave.
• The leaves crunched under my feet as I walked through the woods.
• The car horn beeped loudly.
• The mouse made a squeak as it skittered across the floor.
• The tap needed to be fixed, all I could hear was the drip coming from the bathroom.
• There was a loud bang on the door.
• The lion roared as it chased its prey.
• When you eat an apple, you hear a crunch.
• I hear the snap of a twig.
• The butterfly fluttered by as I walked through the meadow.
• There was a loud crack.
• My cat often purrs when I scratch his tummy.
• The sausages were sizzling in the pan.
• When we enjoy a performance, we clap our hands.
• I heard a rattle and so I had to check I had bolted the window once again.
• My dog will bark at strangers.
• The metal clanged in the wind.
• The rooster cries cock-a-doodle-do every morning when the sun comes up.
• Shh. We need quiet in here while the baby is sleeping.
• The water went splash as the diver jumped into it.
• The snake hissed as it jumped out from behind the rock.
• The toilet makes a flushing sound.
• The piece simply clicked into place.
• It is important to whisper when we are in the library.
• A ghost says boo!
• She cried ‘ouch‘ when she fell down the stairs.
• Hold your breath and your hiccups will stop.
• He burped after eating a large meal.
• The fire crackled, keeping the room warm.
• The rain drizzled down for hours on end.
• The bells went ding.
• I could not understand him since he always mumbled.
• The car zoomed around the race track at a high speed.
• Little dogs tend to yap rather than bark.
• ‘Huh’ I didn’t hear what you said.
• The ball boinged up against the wall.
• I sat and listened to the ticking of the clock.
• When I receive a a message, my phone makes a beeping sound.
• If I wear these shoes, all I hear is a click-clack as I walk around.
• The chickens spend most of the day clucking.
• He let out a huge groan when he sat on a nail.
• I like to hum as I work.
• The ice cream plopped into the bowl.
• My daughter tends to rip up her books.
• There was a loud smack as he hit the mans face.
• Birds make a tweeting sound.
• I will whizz past my opponent in the race.
• The bees buzzed through the air.
• When you sneeze, you make the sound achoo.
• The baby bird made a chirp.
• My little sister is only a few weeks old but she is already starting to coo.
• There was a sudden whoosh of wind through the trees.
• There was a quiet clinking sound.
• The monkeys were chattering in the jungle.
• My horse makes a whinney when he is scared.
• When she talks, all I hear is blah blah blah.
• The baby lamb made a bleating sound when it was born.
• The clock chimed at midnight.
• The robot makes a bleep when you switch it on.
• The guitar goes twang when you pluck the strings.
• The sound of the little birds peeping was so relaxing.
• The water sprinkled all over the grass.
• The eagle crowed overhead as it circled its prey.

Onomatopoeia Words

List of Onomatopoeia Words

Here is a detailed list of words which are onomatopoeic.

• Atishoo
• Bam
• Bang
• Bark
• Bleat
• Bow-wow
• Beep
• Belch
• Blah
• Blab
• Blast
• Bloop
• Blow
• Blurt
• Boing
• Boo
• Boom
• Boop
• Burp
• Buzz
• Caching
• Chatter
• Chirp
• Chirrup
• Clang
• Clink
• Click
• Clap
• Clop
• Cluck
• Cock-a-doodle-do
• Coo
• Creak
• Croak
• Crow
• Crunch
• Crackle
• Ding
• Dong
• Dribble
• Drip
• Drizzle
• Fizzle
• Flick
• Flop
• Flush
• Gallop
• Gargle
• Giggle
• Gloop
• Gong
• Groan
• Growl
• Grunt
• Gulp
• Gurgle
• Honk
• Hum
• Jingle
• Jangle
• Lash
• Lilt
• Low
• Laugh
• Mumble
• Murmur
• Neigh
• Nibble
• Oink
• Ooh
• Oops
• Ooze
• Ouch
• Patter
• Peep
• Phew
• Ping
• Pong
• Pingpong
• Plop
• Pop
• Pow
• Puff
• Rap
• Raspy
• Rattle
• Ring
• Rumble
• Scrape
• Screech
• Sizzle
• Slam
• Slash
• Slosh
• Slurp
• Slap
• Snap
• Splash
• Spray
• Sprinkle
• Squirt
• Swish
• Swoosh
• Thud
• Thump
• Tick
• Ting
• Tock
• Toot
• Twang
• Vroom
• Warble
• Weep
• Wham
• Whap
• Whallop
• Whimper
• Whinney
• Whisper
• Whip
• Whomp
• Whoop
• Whoa
• Wow
• Yap
• Zap
• Zing
• Zip
• Zoom

Picture of Onomatopoeia Words

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Conclusion:

The use of onomatopoeia is for describing something using a word which sounds like its meaning. These words can be grouped into the things that they are describing such as words that describe animal sounds, words that describe human sounds, words that describe nouns and so forth.

Onomatopoeia Examples | Images

Onomatopoeia Words and Examples

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Examples of Onomatopoeia

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Onomatopoeia Words and Useful Examples

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