Onomatopoeia is a word which sounds like the thing it is describing.

E.g The leaves crunched under my footsteps.

E.g Fireworks bang very loudly.

Here are some simple but effective examples:

Snap – tree branches snapping

Whoosh – wind blowing

Whisper – of the wind

Splash - of the sea/waves

Chatter - of the people

Hello Dolores!

Onomatopoeia is the use of words that make the sound of the thing they describe.

Try saying the word 'sigh' aloud and feel how similar it feels to an actual sigh.

Or listen to the message notification sounds on your phone. Do some of them actually sound like the word 'ping'?

When you cough, notice how the hard 'c' at the start of the word echoes the sharp sound at the beginning of a real-life cough.

Feel how the soft sounds in 'whisper' reflect the gentle sounds you would use to talk to someone in a quiet voice.

In a text, onomatopoeic words can bring a scene to life, helping readers imagine sounds as if they can actually hear them. In a poem about rain on a roof, for example, words like 'pitter-patter' and 'drip' can make someone feel as if they're experiencing that rain directly.

This is particularly useful for making dramatic points. Compare the following sentences:

"Bang! He closed the door.''

"He closed the door suddenly."

Which one has more impact? The first sentence could make the reader react strongly - or even jump in surprise - as it mirrors the abrupt sound of a door being slammed. 

We come across many, many examples of onomatopoeia in our daily lives. For instance: click, zap, tick-tock, knock, buzz, moo, woof, hiss, pop, boom, hum, giggle, splash, slosh, whoosh and crackle.

Can you think of other examples?

Hi Dolores! The are words that sound as they are spelt. For example, 'boom' or 'meow' are onomatopoeia words because they sound the same when we say them as the noise they are trying to express.

Onomatopoeia is when the words sounds like it is. For example buzz, fizz, pop

Onomatopoeia is a word that sounds like what it means. For example, buzz, crash, bang, pop.

Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates the sound it is describing: boom, pop, hiss, for example. As an examiner I see pupils using onomatopoeia a lot in their creative writing essays. I would advise you not to overuse this technique and never use it just to "tick a box". Many pupils believe that if they use every literary method - metaphor, repetition, alliteration, personification etc. - they will gain higher marks. They seldom do as using so many methods just looks clumsy, overused and often irrelevant. Oh, and if you have to use onomatopoeia don't write it in capital letters with lots of exclamation marks after it: only Year 7s should do this.

A word used to show a noise for example: crash or bang

1. the formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named (e.g. cuckoo, sizzle ).
2. "a relatively large number of bird names arise by onomatopoeia"

• the use of onomatopoeia for literary effect.
• "the language in her picture books is notable for its playfulness and onomatopoeia"

Onomatopoeia is when you have a word spelled exactly how it sounds e.g. plop or whizz

The act of creating or using words that include sounds that are similar to the noises the words refer to. E.g. bang, bash, boom.

An onomatopoeia is a word associated to a sound, for example 'Meow' would be the word associated to the sound a cat makes.

Onomatopoeia is when a word makes the sound it describes, for example:

bang, crash, splash, bark, woof.

A word which sounds like the noise itself, e.g bang, cuckoo

Hi Dolores, onomatopoeia are words that produce sounds. For example, 'boom', 'bang', 'crash'. Onomatopoeia is excellent for creating sound imagery so that your reader can easily imagine the sounds in a description or narrative.

Hi there Dolores, the word Onomatopoeia sounds complicated but the definition is simple.

It is often used for literary effect and they usually phonetically imitate the word they say. For example, screech is pronounced the exact same way as it is read aloud. An example of this used in a sentence is: The pigs oink as they rolled in the mud. Here it would be ‘oink’ that would make this sentence use Onomatopoeia.