Throb

//θɹɑb// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A beating, vibration or palpitation.

    "He could feel a dull throb in his head from the tension."

  2. 2
    an instance of rapid strong pulsation (of the heart) wordnet
  3. 3
    a deep pulsating type of pain wordnet
Verb
  1. 1
    To pound or beat rapidly or violently. intransitive

    "Her heart began to throb faster as the moment approached."

  2. 2
    expand and contract rhythmically; beat rhythmically wordnet
  3. 3
    To pulse (often painfully) in time with the circulation of blood. intransitive

    "I have a throbbing headache."

  4. 4
    tremble convulsively, as from fear or excitement wordnet
  5. 5
    To exhibit an attitude, trait, or affect powerfully and profoundly. figuratively

    "The bass in the song made the entire room throb with energy."

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    pulsate or pound with abnormal force wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
pulsateshudderaccentacheagonizeail

Example

More examples

"I noted a throb of her pulse, and then I felt, as it were a dream, that the beautiful eyes of Ysidria opened and gazed at me but did not seem to see me."

Etymology

From Middle English throbben; possibly of imitative origin.

Related phrases

heart-throbbingwind throb

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.