I. throb 1 /θrɒb $ θrɑːb/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle throbbed , present participle throbbing ) [intransitive]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Origin: Probably from the sound ]
1 . if a part of your body throbs, you have a feeling of pain in it that regularly starts and stops:
The back of my neck throbbed painfully.
throb with
Her foot was throbbing with pain.
I woke up with a throbbing headache.
2 . if music or a machine throbs, it makes a low sound or ↑ vibration with a strong regular beat:
a throbbing bass line
3 . if your heart throbs, it beats faster or more strongly than usual
4 . if a place throbs with life, energy etc, it has a lot of life etc:
The river is throbbing with life.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ when part of your body feels painful
▪ hurt if part of your body hurts, it feels painful:
My chest hurts when I cough.
▪ ache to hurt with a continuous pain:
I’d been walking all day and my legs were really aching.
▪ throb to feel a bad pain that comes and goes again in a regular and continuous way:
Lou had a terrible headache and his whole head seemed to be throbbing.
▪ sting to feel a sharp pain, or to make someone feel this, especially in your eyes, throat, or skin:
My throat stings every time I swallow.
|
This injection may sting a little.
▪ smart to hurt with a sudden sharp pain – used especially about your eyes, or your skin where something has hit you:
Her eyes were smarting from the thick smoke.
|
Jackson’s face was still smarting from the punch.
▪ burn to feel very hot and painful or uncomfortable:
Be careful because this chemical will make your skin burn.
|
His eyes were burning because of the gas.
▪ pinch if something you are wearing pinches you, it is too tight and presses painfully on your skin:
The shirt was a bit too small and it was pinching my neck.
▪ something is killing me spoken informal used when something feels very painful:
My legs are killing me.
|
These shoes are killing me.
▪ a bad back/leg/arm etc if you have a bad back/leg/arm etc, it feels painful:
He’s off work with a bad back.
II. throb 2 BrE AmE ( also throb‧bing ) /ˈθrɒbɪŋ $ ˈθrɑː-/ noun [countable]
a low strong regular beat or sensation
throb of
the throb of the engines
a steady throb of pain
⇨ ↑ heartthrob