Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1300-1400
Origin: Probably from the sound

throb

1 verb
     
Related topics: Music
throb1 past tense and past participle throbbed, present participle throbbing [intransitive]
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.
2APM if music or a machine throbs, it makes a low sound or vibration with a strong regular beat:
a throbbing bass line
3HBH 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.
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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