Rumble is a low, continuous, rolling sound, like distant thunder or a large truck driving down your street. When thunder rumbles across the sky, it's that deep boom that seems to vibrate through the air. Your stomach might rumble when you're hungry, making those growling sounds that tell everyone it's time for lunch.

The sound suggests something powerful. An earthquake makes the ground rumble. A herd of buffalo rumbles across the plains. A subway train rumbles through tunnels beneath the city. These rumbles aren't sharp or sudden: they're deep, sustained sounds that you can sometimes feel as much as hear.

The word can also describe a physical fight or brawl. When two groups rumble, they get into a violent confrontation, though this usage appears more often in older books and movies than in everyday conversation. You might read about rival gangs having a rumble in a story like The Outsiders.

People also use rumble to mean discovering something hidden, as in “The teacher rumbled their plan to skip homework.” This British usage means catching someone in the act or figuring out their scheme.