chest-thumping

noun

chest-thump·​ing ˈches(t)-ˌthəm-piŋ How to pronounce chest-thumping (audio)
: conduct or expression marked by pompous or arrogant self-assertion
political chest-thumping

Examples of chest-thumping in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Harris’ fortunes improved dramatically following Trump’s six-hour rally at Madison Square Garden, a chest-thumping extravaganza that the bettors reckoned would antagonize female voters on the fence. Chris Morris, Fortune, 5 Nov. 2024 Matthew Rhys, in his brief moments, gives George Carlin a chest-thumping, confrontational machismo. Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024 An eighth-inning throwing error from right-hander Blake Treinen allowed the Diamondbacks to tie the score and former Dodger Joc Pederson hit a chest-thumping home run in the ninth to give Arizona a 5-4 lead. Doug Padilla, Orange County Register, 2 July 2024 Asian countries sometimes recoil at the American tendency to frame its support for democracy in chest-thumping, even messianic terms. Michael Green, Foreign Affairs, 23 Jan. 2024 Located beneath a tangle of freeway overpasses, the park reverberated with chest-thumping music and speeches amplified extra loud to drown out the roar of overhead traffic. Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Apr. 2024 The chest-thumping challenges from both men appeared to speak to a new form of macho aggression in a culture more associated with cutthroat industry practices than hand-to-hand violence. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 21 July 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of chest-thumping was in 1948

Dictionary Entries Near chest-thumping

Cite this Entry

“Chest-thumping.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chest-thumping. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.

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