throb
/θɹɒb/US/θɹɑb/
throb verb: to pound or beat rapidly or violently.
Verb
throb (third-person singular simple present throbs, present participle throbbing, simple past and past participle throbbed)
- To pound or beat rapidly or violently.
- Her heart began to throb faster as the moment approached.
- To pulse (often painfully) in time with the circulation of blood.
- I have a throbbing headache.
- To exhibit an attitude, trait, or affect powerfully and profoundly.
- The bass in the song made the entire room throb with energy.
- Having been married and divorced, Suzanne throbs with attitudes of strength, liberation and equality.1977 April 23, Arlene Silva, “Suzanne Fox's Silent Stories”, in Gay Community News, page 10
Noun
throb (plural throbs)
- A beating, vibration or palpitation.
- He could feel a dull throb in his head from the tension.
- My bosom was now bare, and rising in the warmest throbs, presented to his sight and feeling the firm hard swell of a pair of young breasts, such as may be imagin'd of a girl not sixteen, fresh out of the country1749, [John Cleland], “(Please specify the letter or volume)”, in Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure [Fanny Hill], London: […] [Thomas Parker] for G. Fenton [i.e., Fenton and Ralph Griffiths] […], →OCLC
throb meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
throb in Hindi
- to throb
- दरकना daraknā
throb in Tamil
- வேகத் துடிப்பு, வேகமாகத் துடி
throb in Marathi
- to throb or pound rapidly, especially of the heart, as from fear, excitement, or anxiety
- धडधडणे dhaḍdhaḍaṇē
throb in Urdu
- دھڑکن, لپک, دھمکنا, دھڑکنا, لپکنا, لرزنا
More languagesFewer languages
- throb in Telugu
- సలుపు salupu, చలించు caliñcu
- throb in Malayalam
- തുടിക്കുക tuṭikkuka, മിടിക്കുക miṭikkuka, മിടിപ്പ് miṭippŭ
- throb in Kannada
- ತುಡಿ, ದುಡಿ, ಜೋರಾಗಿ ಮಿಡಿ, ಬಡಿ
- throb in Odia
- ଡେଇଁବା ḍeĩbā
- throb in Arabic
- خَفَقَ ḵafaqa, نَبَضَ nabaḍa, خَفَقَان ḵafaqān
- throb in Vietnamese
- phập phồng
Examples of throb in a sentence
- As Stoller says, "perversion is a sturdy word, throbbing with assumptions, while paraphilia is a wet noodle."
- She struggled up on her feet, limping sloggingly, leg throbbing, to the door, searching for Steve.
- As always in Lisbon, my heart throbbed semaphores to call Tónio.
Forms of throb
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | throbs |
| present participle | throbbing |
| past participle | throbbed |
| past | throbbed |
| Noun | |
| plural | throbs |
Origin of throb
From Middle English throbben; possibly of imitative origin. Cognate with Scots thrab (“to throb”). Compare also drub.
Words formed from throb
Words that rhyme with throb
Questions about throb
- What does throb mean?
- Throb means to pound or beat rapidly or violently.
- What is throb in Hindi?
- Throb in Hindi is दरकना (daraknā). See Throb meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is throb?
- Throb can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce throb?
- Throb is pronounced /θɹɒb/ (UK).
- What is the past tense of throb?
- The past tense of throb is throbbed.
Words near throb in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: throb (page history and authors); दरकना (Hindi) (page history and authors); throb (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); धडधडणे (Marathi) (page history and authors); throb (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); చలించు (Telugu) (page history and authors); തുടിക്കുക (Malayalam) (page history and authors); throb (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ଡେଇଁବା (Odia) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-throb.wav.
Cite this entry: “throb.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/throb. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.