To throb means to beat or pulse with a strong, steady rhythm, usually with a feeling of pain or intensity. When you bang your thumb with a hammer, it might start to throb, pulsing with each heartbeat in a way that's impossible to ignore. A headache can throb behind your eyes, pounding rhythmically and making it hard to concentrate.

The word captures that repetitive, pulsing quality. Your heart throbs when you're nervous or excited. Music with a heavy bass line can throb through a room, each beat vibrating in your chest. Engines throb with power. A sore tooth might throb at night, keeping you awake.

Throb usually suggests something more intense than a gentle pulse. It's the difference between your heart's normal beat (which you barely notice) and the pounding you feel after sprinting across the playground. The word often implies discomfort, though not always: a room might throb with energy and excitement during a celebration, or drums might throb during a performance, creating a powerful, driving rhythm.

As a noun, a throb is a single pulse or beat. You might feel a painful throb in your ankle after twisting it.