7 Words For The Sound Of A Heartbeat (Onomatopoeia)

Heartbeats are very distinctive sounds. They’re easy enough to imitate with our voices, but did you know you can also imitate them with words? This article will explore some of the best ways to describe the sound of a heartbeat.

Which Words Can Describe The Sound Of A Heartbeat?

Onomatopoeia gives us a lot of freedom when looking for descriptive words. Try one of the following to see which you prefer:

• Thump thump
• Ba boom
• Ba bump
• Lub-dub
• Mmm mmm
• Bum bum
• Heartbeat

The preferred version is “thump thump.” It works because people know what a “thump” is, and they can recreate it on the spot to find out how close it is to the sound of the heartbeat. If you try to thump your chest twice right now, you’ll notice the similarity.

Thump Thump

“Thump thump” is great because it shows that there’s a drumming beat with the heart. It’s also a very popular choice for many people to help them give a more tactile idea of what the sound is (since they can “thump” something to demonstrate the sound).

• Thump thump! Thump thump! My heart is racing right now.
• Thump thump! Thump thump! I never thought she was going to ask me out like that!
• Thump thump! Thump thump! Can you hear my heartbeat? I feel like it’s being really loud right now!

Ba Boom

“Ba boom” is a great way to use onomatopoeia a bit more specifically than “thump thump.” We can use two varying sounds instead to show that there is a specific way for a heart to make a beating sound.

We use “ba” as the first part of the word to indicate that the first beat is always shorter in length than the second. The “boom” also indicates that the second sound is always the mightier one of the two (it tends to be the one that most people are able to hear).

• Ba boom! Ba boom! Did you hear what she just said to me? I’ve been waiting my whole life for that to happen.
• Ba boom! My heart is aching right now. Ba boom! It feels like it’s ready to burst.
• Ba boom! Ba boom! You need to try and slow your heartbeat down a little, sir.

Ba Bump

“Ba bump” is a variation of “ba boom” from above. We can also use “bump” to combine elements of the “thump,” which allows us to show off a similar “thumping” sound that you’re already familiar with.

Again, the “ba” part of the phrase shows that there are two sounds, where the first sound is generally much quicker than the second.

• Ba bump! Ba bump! That’s my heartbeat. I can feel it trying to claw its way out of my chest.
• Ba bump! I don’t like this one bit. I wish there was something I could do to fix this situation.
• Ba bump! Ba bump! I’ve never been that close to being caught before! I kind of enjoyed it.

Lub-Dub

“Lub-dub” is a common way for native English speakers to reference the sound of a heartbeat. The two sounds rhyme, which shows that there is a certain rhythm to a heartbeat (which is easy to identify).

The difference in the words comes from the letters used at the start. The distinction between the “L” and the “D” helps identify a higher and lower sound to a heartbeat. The two sounds are not meant to be identical, but they’re meant to follow each other in a pattern.

• Lub-dub! Lub-dub! Can you hear that? That’s the sound of your baby’s heartbeat. It’s growing healthy!
• Lub-dub! Lub-dub! I like the sound of that heartbeat. You’re going to live a long and happy life, Paul!
• Lub-dub! I could hear my heart beating and my throat gulping. I don’t think I’ve ever been under this much pressure before.

Mmm Mmm

“Mmm mmm” is an interesting choice for heartbeat onomatopoeia. It’s interesting because it makes use of nothing but “M’s” in the pronunciation. This shows that it’s meant to be a droning, humming sound that carries on in staggered rhythms.

We can also rely on the space between the sounds of “Mmm.” The space indicates that there’s a slight pause between beats. If you listen to a heartbeat, you’ll understand that this pause is present for everyone.

• Mmm mmm. I can hear your heartbeat because of this apparatus. Isn’t that so cool?
• Mmm mmm. Mmm mmm. Have you ever felt your pulse and really tried to listen to what it’s saying?
• Mmm mmm. Mmm mmm. I could hear my heart pounding out of my chest. It was getting much quicker now, though.

Bum Bum

“Bum bum” is another great way to use the “M” ending on each syllable. It shows that there’s a specific beat to follow, and the heart follows these beats in a rhythm. The “B” at the start of the word indicates that it’s a lower-register sound.

• Bum bum! Bum bum! I can’t stand the sound of heartbeats. Listening to them stands my hair up!
• Bum bum! Can you tell how nervous I am by listening to that? Bum bum! I don’t know what I’m going to do.
• Bum bum! Bum bum! It’s not ideal, but we can work on this. At least we’ve heard how your heart rate quickens under stress.

Heartbeat

While it’s not the best or most popular version, we can use “heartbeat” as a sound to describe itself. Because it’s so distinctive, you can use the word to describe the sound, and people will understand what you mean.

Onomatopoeia allows us this freedom, but it only applies when the sound we’re referring to is distinct from anything else. “Heartbeat” is the only sound like it in the human body, which is why it works well without any specific sounds.

• The sound of the heartbeat was all I needed to hear. Now I can die a happy man.
• That’s the sound of his heartbeat. I bet you didn’t think you’d be able to hear something like that today, did you?
• It’s not the heartbeat sound we’re hoping for. There’s something wrong here, and we need to fix it.