onomatopoeia

noun

on·o·mato·poe·ia ˌä-nə-ˌmä-tə-ˈpē-ə

-ˌma-

: the naming of a thing or action by a vocal imitation of the sound associated with it (such as buzz, hiss)

also : a word formed by onomatopoeia

In comic books, when you see someone with a gun, you know it's only going off when you read the onomatopoeias. —

Christian Marclay

: the use of words whose sound suggests the sense

a study of the poet's onomatopoeia

onomatopoeic

ˌä-nə-ˌmä-tə-ˈpē-ik

-ˌma-

adjective

or onomatopoetic

ˌä-nə-ˌmä-tə-pō-ˈe-tik

-ˌma-

onomatopoeically

ˌä-nə-ˌmä-tə-ˈpē-ə-k(ə-)lē

-ˌma-

adverb

or onomatopoetically

ˌä-nə-ˌmä-tə-pō-ˈe-ti-k(ə-)lē

-ˌma-

Did you know?

English speakers have only used the word onomatopoeia since the 1500s, but people have been creating words inspired by the sounds heard around them for much longer. It may not surprise you to learn that fizz, jingle, toot, and pop are onomatopoeic in origin, but did you know the same is true of bounce, tinker, and blimp? Boom! Now you do. In fact, the presence of so many imitative words in language spawned the linguistic bowwow theory, which postulates that language originated in the imitating of natural sounds. While it’s highly unlikely that onomatopoeia is the sole impetus for human language, it certainly made a mark, which is nothing to sneeze at.

Examples of onomatopoeia in a Sentence

The term hiccup is an example of onomatopoeia … —

Fred Cicetti, Montague Reporter, 6 Mar. 2008

You might think it was an onomatopoeia of the sound a Frisbee makes as it moves through the air, but the name has been attributed for years to the Frisbie Pie Company of Bridgeport, Conn., which went out of business in 1958. —

Mark Danna, Sports Illustrated, 11 May 1987

Buzz and hiss are examples of onomatopoeia.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Green group — tolerate (BEAR, STAND, SWALLOW, TAKE) Blue group — bird onomatopoeia (COO, GOBBLE, HONK, HOOT) Purple group — starts of cell phone makers (APP, GOO, MOTOR, SAM) My first perfect game in a few days brought me my seventh straight win. —

Kris Holt, Forbes, 11 Oct. 2024 Her way with language, subject, and style taps into childhood and childlike play, echoing pedagogical strategies tied to literacy like phonics and onomatopoeia. —

Sarah Lehrer-Graiwer, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2024 Tom Wolfe is a literary icon for many reasons, not least his white suits and liberal use of onomatopoeia. —

Seyward Darby, Longreads, 9 Jan. 2024 To see the onomatopoeias appear in tiny bursts in the grid was the goal. —

Sam Corbin, New York Times, 4 Feb. 2024 Instead of the traditional hip-hop group format of trading verses, Migos basically traded syllables, punctuating each other’s verses and flows with shouted interjections, ad-libs, onomatopoeia or just noises. —

Jem Aswad, Variety, 24 May 2023 Instead, the animal life represented here coexists peacefully in a land of idioms and the occasional onomatopoeia. —

Sam Corbin, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2023 The bullet is a grim onomatopoeia for itself. —

Adrian Matejka, New York Times, 15 July 2021 Mime and onomatopoeia were part of the drill. —

Dan Greene, The New Yorker, 24 May 2021