Onomatopoeia Word Search

A sound-word puzzle with its answer key, from Buzz, Hiss and Splash to Kerplunk and Pitter-patter.

Name Date

Find every word hidden in the grid. Words go across and down.

0 of 16 words found

DBARLSEHECBEEPE

QSADQOORCNASXMA

UIWQXLPOABNPROA

AZPKOBBGIGGLEOW

CZHNJRURYUOATIG

KLFPOPZWHOOSHNH

MEHISSZCRASHUKO

EOTNALKLNPBGMAM

CDEZDIAIOPTLPCH

OPRMSAMNCAVYAAS

PRYVMQETLNBDRWL

HEJQEOOCAARNTRP

XPMLMKWMNYENDDY

DBGSRNEHGEOJWYP

PETHAYRFVTRBRSC

This grid is wider and taller than its box. Slide it to see every letter.To drag, hold the first letter for a moment, then slide.Keyboard: Tab to the grid, arrow keys to move, Enter on the first and last letter.

BuzzBUZZ
CrashCRASH
SizzleSIZZLE
WhooshWHOOSH
ThumpTHUMP
SplashSPLASH
HissHISS
ClangCLANG
MooMOO
PopPOP
BeepBEEP
QuackQUACK
MeowMEOW
BangBANG
OinkOINK
GiggleGIGGLE

16 of 22 words from the Common Sound Words list.

Write three sentences. Use a sound word you found in each one.

Start from a list

Easy: words go across and down.

More options

Show clues, not words

Word list

Large print Lower-case letters Name and date line on paper

The puzzle changes as you go. See the puzzle

Answer key: Onomatopoeia Word Search

DBARLSEHECBEEPE

QSADQOORCNASXMA

UIWQXLPOABNPROA

AZPKOBBGIGGLEOW

CZHNJRURYUOATIG

KLFPOPZWHOOSHNH

MEHISSZCRASHUKO

EOTNALKLNPBGMAM

CDEZDIAIOPTLPCH

OPRMSAMNCAVYAAS

PRYVMQETLNBDRWL

HEJQEOOCAARNTRP

XPMLMKWMNYENDDY

DBGSRNEHGEOJWYP

PETHAYRFVTRBRSC

BUZZ, CRASH, SIZZLE, WHOOSH, THUMP, SPLASH, HISS, CLANG, MOO, POP, BEEP, QUACK, MEOW, BANG, OINK, GIGGLE

Next step Make a word search from your own sound words Fill in the sound word on an onomatopoeia worksheet

All 160 words

Animal Sounds 40

Baa The sound a sheep or a goat makes.
Bark The harsh sound a dog makes.
Bleat The cry of a goat or a sheep.
Buzz The low, droning sound of a bee.
Cackle The shrill cry of a hen that has laid an egg.
Caw The hoarse cry of a crow.
Cheep The faint, shrill chirp of a young bird.
Chirp The short, high sound of a small bird or a cricket.
Cluck The sound a hen makes to call her chicks.
Coo The soft murmur of a pigeon or a dove.
Croak The low, hoarse sound of a frog.
Cuckoo A bird named for its own two-note call.
Gobble The throaty sound of a male turkey.
Growl The low, throaty, warning sound of an angry animal.
Grunt A deep, throaty sound, as a hog makes.
Hee-haw The cry of a donkey.
Hiss A sharp sound like a long s, as a snake makes.
Hoot The cry of an owl.
Howl The long, wailing cry of a wolf.
Meow The cry of a cat.
Mew The high, crying sound of a kitten.
Moo The deep, bellowing sound a cow makes.
Neigh The long, high sound a horse makes.

Show all 160 words (137 more)

Animal Sounds, continued

Oink The grunting noise of a hog.
Peep The short, soft, high sound of a baby bird.
Purr The soft, vibrating sound of a contented cat.
Quack The sound a duck makes.
Ribbit The call of a frog.
Roar The loud, deep cry of a lion.
Screech A high, piercing cry, as of an owl.
Snarl A fierce growl made with the teeth bared.
Squawk A loud, harsh scream, as of a parrot.
Squeak A short, shrill cry, as of a mouse.
Squeal A loud, shrill cry, as of a pig.
Trill A fluttering, warbling sound made by some birds.
Tweet The weak chirping sound of a young or small bird.
Twitter A run of light chirping sounds.
Woof The deep, gruff bark of a dog.
Yap The sharp, shrill bark of a small dog.
Yowl A long, loud, mournful cry, as of a cat at night.

Water Sounds 17

Babble The low, steady murmur of a flowing brook.
Burble The bubbling sound of running water.
Fizz The hissing, bubbling sound of a soft drink.
Glug The sound of liquid pouring out of a bottle.
Gurgle The bubbling sound of water running down a drain.
Kerplunk The sound of a heavy thing falling into water.
Lap The soft slapping sound of small waves on a shore.
Pitter-patter A quick run of light tapping sounds, like rain on a window.
Plop The sound of a small thing falling into water with hardly a ripple.
Slosh The sound of liquid moving about inside a container.
Slurp The noisy sound of someone drinking soup.
Splash The sound of something dropping into water.
Splat A smacking, wet noise, as of mud hitting a wall.
Splosh A heavy splashing sound.
Squelch The sucking sound of boots in deep mud.
Squish The soft, sucking sound of wet mud underfoot.
Swash The sound of water dashing against something solid.

Bangs, Bumps and Crashes 30

Bam A word for the sound of a sudden blow or collision.
Bang A sudden loud noise, like a slammed door.
Biff A blow or a punch, in informal speech.
Boom A deep, hollow, echoing sound, like far-off thunder.
Bop To hit or strike.
Bump A light blow or jolt, or the dull sound it makes.
Clang The loud, ringing sound of metal struck on metal.
Clank The sharp, hard sound of a metal chain.
Clatter A rattling noise, as of pots and pans knocked together.
Clomp The sound of walking heavily and noisily.
Clonk The abrupt sound of two hard things meeting.
Clunk A dull sound, as of heavy things bumping together.
Crash The sudden loud noise of something breaking.
Crunch The noisy, crackling sound of chewing something crisp.
Knock The sound of knuckles on a door.
Plunk A short, hollow, twanging sound.
Pop A short, sharp, bursting sound, like a balloon.
Pow A word for a sudden loud noise, as in a comic strip.
Rap A quick, sharp knock.
Rattle A quick run of short, sharp sounds, as of beans shaken in a can.
Smash The noise of a thing breaking suddenly into pieces.
Snap The brisk, sharp crack of a twig breaking.
Tap A light, gentle blow, as on a door or a shoulder.
Thud The dull sound of a heavy thing landing on a hard floor.
Thump The muffled sound of a blow from something blunt.
Thunk A dull, hollow sound, as of a pipe striking a tree.
Thwack A hit with something flat.
Whack A sharp, swift blow.
Wham The sound of a hard, forceful blow.
Whump A dull thud.

Sounds People Make 29

Achoo The sound of a sneeze.
Ahem A small throat-clearing sound made to draw attention.
Blurt To say a thing suddenly, without stopping to think.
Boo A shout that shows dislike, or one meant to startle.
Burp The noise of gas coming up from the stomach through the mouth.
Chatter To talk fast, without stopping, about small things.
Chomp To chew or bite noisily.
Cough A sudden, noisy rush of air from the lungs.
Gab To talk idly about small things.
Gibber To chatter in a way that makes no sense.
Giggle A laugh made of short, quick sounds.
Guffaw A hearty burst of laughter.
Hiccup A sharp little sound made when the breath catches in the throat.
Huff To blow or puff.
Hum To sing a tune with the lips closed.
Hush To make silent or quiet.
Jabber To talk so fast that the words are hard to follow.
Mumble To speak unclearly, in a low voice or with the mouth half closed.
Munch To chew so that it can be heard.
Murmur A low, unclear, steady sound, as of far-off voices.
Mutter To speak in low tones that are hard to make out.
Phew A word said in relief or tiredness.
Sigh A long, deep breath let out in tiredness or relief.
Snicker A sly laugh that is partly held back.
Sniff A short breath drawn in through the nose that can be heard.
Whimper A cry of soft, broken sounds.
Whoop A loud cry of joy or excitement.
Yammer To complain in a whining way, or to talk loudly without stopping.
Yawn A wide opening of the mouth with a deep breath, from being sleepy.

Bells, Clicks and Engines 27

Beep A short, high sound from a car horn or a machine.
Bleep A brief, high sound from an electronic device.
Blip A short, high electronic sound.
Boing The sound of a spring as it bounces.
Choo-choo A small child's word for a train.
Chug The dull, short, repeated sound of a hard-working engine.
Clack The sharp sound of two hard things striking together.
Click A brief, sharp sound, like a light switch.
Clink The light, sharp ringing of one glass against another.
Clip-clop The sound of a horse's hooves on hard ground.
Creak A grating, squeaking sound, as of an old door.
Ding The ringing sound of a small bell.
Honk The loud sound of a car horn, or the cry of a wild goose.
Jingle A light, ringing, metallic sound, as of keys.
Ping A sharp, high sound.
Plink A soft, sharp, metallic sound.
Ring The clear sound of a bell.
Snip A short, quick cut with scissors.
Strum To brush the fingers across the strings of a guitar.
Thrum The sound of strings played idly, over and over.
Ticktock The steady sound of a clock.
Ting A single light, metallic sound, as of a tiny bell.
Tinkle Light metallic sounds, like those of a small bell.
Toot A short blast on a horn or a whistle.
Twang The sharp, shaking sound of a plucked string.
Vroom The loud roar of an engine running at high speed.
Zoom The low, steady hum of something moving fast.

Wind, Fire and Fast Things 17

Crackle A run of slight, sharp snapping noises, as of a wood fire.
Fizzle A weak hissing or sputtering sound.
Flap The sound of a flag waving in the wind.
Flick A light, quick blow or snap, and the sound of it.
Flutter The quick, uneven waving of wings or a flag.
Patter A quick run of light, soft taps, as of rain on glass.
Puff A short, sudden gust of breath, wind or smoke.
Rumble A deep, long, rolling sound, like thunder.
Rustle The soft, crackling sound of dry leaves stirring.
Sizzle The hissing sound of food frying in hot fat.
Swish The hissing or whistling sound of a thing moving through the air.
Swoosh A rushing sound, as of a ball through a net.
Whiz The buzzing or hissing sound of a thing speeding through the air.
Whoosh A rushing, hissing sound, as of a fast elevator.
Zap The sound of a sudden spark of electricity.
Zing A short, high hum, as of an arrow passing.
Zip A brief, sharp hissing sound.

How this list was compiled: Own work: the word list and every clue were written for this page. Every word was looked up on 2026-10-16 in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, https://www.ahdictionary.com/, whose etymologies mark 112 of the 160 words as imitative. The other 48 are named as onomatopoeia in the articles Onomatopoeia and List of onomatopoeias in English Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/, or are given an imitative origin or filed among English onomatopoeias in Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/, both read on 2026-10-16. Licence: own work

How it works

This onomatopoeia word search opens on 16 common sound words, such as Crash, Sizzle, Whoosh, Thump, Clang and Quack. Every word has a one-line meaning. Six more lists hold all 160 words.

Read the full guide

Lists by what makes the sound

Under Start from a list, Animal Sounds has Oink, Ribbit and Hee-haw. Water Sounds has Plop, Glug and Squelch. Bangs, Bumps and Crashes has Thud, Clatter and Thwack.

People, machines and moving air

Sounds People Make has Hiccup, Achoo and Guffaw. Bells, Clicks and Engines has Beep, Vroom and Ticktock. Wind, Fire and Fast Things has Swoosh, Crackle and Zap.

Under More options, tick Show clues, not words. Pupils read "The hissing sound of food frying in hot fat" and hunt for Sizzle.
Hee-haw, Clip-clop, Choo-choo and Pitter-patter are hidden with no gap: PITTERPATTER.
Short Sound Words has 106 words of 3 to 5 letters for younger pupils. Longer Sound Words starts at 6 letters.

Questions and answers

What is onomatopoeia?

The forming or use of words that imitate the sounds they name, such as buzz or murmur. The word comes from Greek onoma, name, and poiein, to make: name-making.

What are examples of onomatopoeia?

Animal sounds such as moo, oink, quack and meow. Crashes such as bang, thump and clang. Water sounds such as splash and plop. Voice sounds such as giggle, hiccup and achoo. This page lists 160.

Is onomatopoeia the same in every language?

No. Each language fits a sound to its own speech sounds. A clock goes tick tock in English and tic tac in Spanish and Italian.

Is whisper an onomatopoeia?

Many lessons count it as one. It is not on this list: the American Heritage Dictionary traces whisper to Old English hwisprian and does not call it imitative. Every word here is marked imitative in a dictionary or named as onomatopoeia in Wikipedia.

All 160 words

Animal Sounds 40

Animal Sounds, continued

Water Sounds 17

Bangs, Bumps and Crashes 30

Sounds People Make 29

Bells, Clicks and Engines 27

Wind, Fire and Fast Things 17

How it works

Lists by what makes the sound

People, machines and moving air

Questions and answers

More tools