What is the term for a word that imitates the sound it describes?

The term for a word that imitates the sound it describes is onomatopoeia.

Examples include “buzz,” “hiss,” “clang,” “meow,” and “splash.” Such words imitate, resemble, or suggest a sound rather than merely naming its source. They can function as nouns, verbs, or interjections: a bee buzzes, a door clangs, and water splashes.

The English word comes from Ancient Greek onomatopoiía, meaning “name-making.” Onomatopoeic words are shaped by the sound system of each language, so the same noise may receive different spellings around the world. An English clock says “tick-tock,” while Spanish and Italian use “tic-tac.”

Onomatopoeia is narrower than alliteration, assonance, and rhyme. Those describe patterns of repeated sounds in words or lines; onomatopoeia specifically connects a word’s sound with the noise or action it represents. Some languages also use broader sound-symbolic words for movement, texture, or emotion.