Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate or suggest a real sound, such as buzz, clang, or whisper. Poets use it to make a line echo the sound being described, which can make an image feel more immediate and alive. Some words imitate a sound closely, while others simply sound like it.

Example

Rain tapped the tin roof: drip, drip, drip.
The hinges creaked.
A dog barked in the dark, and the gate went clang.

buzz

moo

beep

bang

click

Related Definitions

[n] using words that imitate the sound they denote

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