Nautical. any of various more or less horizontal spars or poles for extending the feet of sails, esp. fore-and-aft sails, for handling cargo, suspending mooring lines alongside a vessel, pushing a vessel away from wharves, etc.
2.
Aeronautics.
a.
an outrigger used on certain aircraft for connecting the tail surfaces to the fuselage.
b.
a maneuverable and retractable pipe on a tanker aircraft for refueling another aircraft in flight.
Nautical A long spar extending from a mast to hold or extend the foot of a sail.
A long pole extending upward at an angle from the mast of a derrick to support or guide objects being lifted or suspended.
A barrier composed of a chain of floating logs enclosing other free-floating logs, typically used to catch floating debris or to obstruct passage.
A floating barrier serving to contain an oil spill.
A spar that connects the tail surfaces and the main structure of an airplane.
A long hollow tube attached to a tanker aircraft, through which fuel flows to another aircraft being refueled in flight.
A long movable arm used to maneuver and support a microphone.
A spar that connects the tail surfaces and the main structure of an airplane.
A long hollow tube attached to a tanker aircraft, through which fuel flows to another aircraft being refueled in flight.
tr.v.
boomed, boom·ing, booms
To move or position using a crane: "The renegade logs somehow escaped while . . . the logs were boomed up into the mile-long rafts that ply these channels"(Jack Weatherford).
[Dutch, tree, pole, from Middle Dutch; see bheuə- in Indo-European roots.]
"long pole," 1543, from Scottish boun, borrowed from Du. boom "tree, pole, beam," from a M.Du. word analogous to O.E. beam. The business sense (1873) is sometimes said to be from this word, from the nautical meaning "a long spar run out to extend the foot of a sail;" a ship "booming" being one in full sail. But it could just as well be from boom (v.), on the notion of "suddenness."
a sudden happening that brings good fortune (as a sudden opportunity to make money); "the demand for testing has created a boom for those unregulated laboratories where boxes of specimen jars are processed like an assembly line"
4.
a pole carrying an overhead microphone projected over a film or tv set
5.
any of various more-or-less horizontal spars or poles used to extend the foot of a sail or for handling cargo or in mooring
verb
1.
make a resonant sound, like artillery; "His deep voice boomed through the hall"
A period of time during which sales or business activity increases rapidly.
Investopedia Commentary
In the stock market, booms are associated with bull markets. Conversely, busts are associated with bear markets. The cyclical nature of the market and the economy in general suggests that every bull market in history has been followed by a bear market.
The internet technologies boom in the late '90s was one of the largest booms in history (followed by one of the biggest busts in history).
Beam\, n. [AS. be['a]m beam, post, tree, ray of light; akin to OFries. b[=a]m tree, OS. b?m, D. boom, OHG. boum, poum, G. baum, Icel. ba?mr, Goth. bahms and Gr. ? a growth, ? to become, to be. Cf. L. radius staff, rod, spoke of a wheel, beam or ray, and G. strahl arrow, spoke of a wheel, ray or beam, flash of lightning. ?97. See Be; cf. Boom a spar.]1. Any large piece of timber or iron long in proportion to its thickness, and prepared for use. 2. One of the principal horizontal timbers of a building or ship. The beams of a vessel are strong pieces of timber stretching across from side to side to support the decks. --Totten. 3. The width of a vessel; as, one vessel is said to have more beam than another. 4. The bar of a balance, from the ends of which the scales are suspended. The doubtful beam long nods from side to side. --Pope. 5. The principal stem or horn of a stag or other deer, which bears the antlers, or branches. 6. The pole of a carriage. [Poetic] --Dryden. 7. A cylinder of wood, making part of a loom, on which weavers wind the warp before weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled, as it is woven; one being called the fore beam, the other the back beam. 8. The straight part or shank of an anchor. 9. The main part of a plow, to which the handles and colter are secured, and to the end of which are attached the oxen or horses that draw it. 10. (Steam Engine) A heavy iron lever having an oscillating motion on a central axis, one end of which is connected with the piston rod from which it receives motion, and the other with the crank of the wheel shaft; -- called also working beam or walking beam. 11. A ray or collection of parallel rays emitted from the sun or other luminous body; as, a beam of light, or of heat. How far that little candle throws his beams ! --Shak. 12. Fig.: A ray; a gleam; as, a beam of comfort. Mercy with her genial beam. --Keble. 13. One of the long feathers in the wing of a hawk; -- called also beam feather. Abaft the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon between a line that crosses the ship at right angles, or in the direction of her beams, and that point of the compass toward which her stern is directed. Beam center (Mach.), the fulcrum or pin on which the working beam of an engine vibrates. Beam compass, an instrument consisting of a rod or beam, having sliding sockets that carry steel or pencil points; -- used for drawing or describing large circles. Beam engine, a steam engine having a working beam to transmit power, in distinction from one which has its piston rod attached directly to the crank of the wheel shaft. Before the beam (Naut.), in an arc of the horizon included between a line that crosses the ship at right angles and that point of the compass toward which the ship steers. On the beam, in a line with the beams, or at right angled with the keel. On the weather beam, on the side of a ship which faces the wind. To be on her beam ends, to incline, as a vessel, so much on one side that her beams approach a vertical position.
Boom\ (b[=oo]m), n. [D. boom tree, pole, beam, bar. See Beam.]1. (Naut.) A long pole or spar, run out for the purpose of extending the bottom of a particular sail; as, the jib boom, the studding-sail boom, etc. 2. (Mech.) A long spar or beam, projecting from the mast of a derrick, from the outer end of which the body to be lifted is suspended. 3. A pole with a conspicuous top, set up to mark the channel in a river or harbor. [Obs.] 4. (Mil. & Naval) A strong chain cable, or line of spars bound together, extended across a river or the mouth of a harbor, to obstruct navigation or passage. 5. (Lumbering) A line of connected floating timbers stretched across a river, or inclosing an area of water, to keep saw logs, etc., from floating away. Boom iron, one of the iron rings on the yards through which the studding-sail booms traverse. The booms, that space on the upper deck of a ship between the foremast and mainmast, where the boats, spare spars, etc., are stowed. --Totten.
Boom\ (b[=oo]m), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Boomed, p. pr. & vb. n. Booming.] [Of imitative origin; cf. OE. bommen to hum, D. bommen to drum, sound as an empty barrel, also W. bwmp a hollow sound; aderyn y bwmp, the bird of the hollow sound, i. e., the bittern. Cf. Bum, Bump, v. i., Bomb, v. i.]1. To cry with a hollow note; to make a hollow sound, as the bittern, and some insects. At eve the beetle boometh Athwart the thicket lone. --Tennyson. 2. To make a hollow sound, as of waves or cannon. Alarm guns booming through the night air. --W. Irving. 3. To rush with violence and noise, as a ship under a press of sail, before a free wind. She comes booming down before it. --Totten. 4. To have a rapid growth in market value or in popular favor; to go on rushingly.