thud
thud / [unvoicedth]əd/ • n. a dull, heavy sound, such as that made by an object falling to the ground: Jean heard the thud of the closing door.• v. (thud·ded, thud·ding) [intr.] move, fall, or strike something with a dull, heavy sound: the bullets thudded into the dusty ground.PHRASES: with a thud used to describe a sudden and disillusioning reminder of reality in contrast to someone's dreams or aspirations: dropouts have now come back down to earth with a thud.ORIGIN: late Middle English (originally Scots): probably from Old English thyddan ‘to thrust, push’; related to thoden ‘violent wind.’ The noun is recorded first denoting a sudden blast or gust of wind, later the sound of a thunderclap, whence a dull, heavy sound. The verb dates from the early 16th cent.