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boom
1[ boom ]
verb (used without object)
- to make a deep, prolonged, resonant sound.
- to move with a resounding rush or great impetus.
- to progress, grow, or flourish vigorously, as a business or a city:
Her business is booming since she enlarged the store.
verb (used with object)
- to give forth with a booming sound (often followed by out ):
The clock boomed out nine.
- to boost; campaign for vigorously:
His followers are booming George for mayor.
noun
- a deep, prolonged, resonant sound.
- the resonant cry of a bird or animal.
- a buzzing, humming, or droning, as of a bee or beetle.
- a rapid increase in price, development, numbers, etc.:
a boom in housing construction.
- a period of rapid economic growth, prosperity, high wages and prices, and relatively full employment.
- a rise in popularity, as of a political candidate.
adjective
- caused by or characteristic of a boom:
boom prices.
boom
2[ boom ]
noun
- Nautical. any of various more or less horizontal spars or poles for extending the feet of sails, especially fore-and-aft sails, for handling cargo, suspending mooring lines alongside a vessel, pushing a vessel away from wharves, etc.
- Aeronautics.
- an outrigger used on certain aircraft for connecting the tail surfaces to the fuselage.
- a maneuverable and retractable pipe on a tanker aircraft for refueling another aircraft in flight.
- a chain, cable, series of connected floating timbers, or the like, serving to obstruct navigation, confine floating timber, etc.
- the area thus shut off.
- Machinery. a spar or beam projecting from the mast of a derrick for supporting or guiding the weights to be lifted.
- (on a motion-picture or television stage) a spar or beam on a mobile crane for holding or manipulating a microphone or camera.
verb (used with object)
- to extend or position, as a sail (usually followed by out or off ).
- to manipulate (an object) by or as by means of a crane or derrick.
verb (used without object)
- to sail at full speed.
boom
1/ buːm /
noun
- nautical a spar to which a sail is fastened to control its position relative to the wind
- a beam or spar pivoting at the foot of the mast of a derrick, controlling the distance from the mast at which a load is lifted or lowered
- a pole, usually extensible, carrying an overhead microphone and projected over a film or television set
- a barrier across a waterway, usually consisting of a chain of connected floating logs, to confine free-floating logs, protect a harbour from attack, etc
- the area so barred off
boom
2/ buːm /
verb
- to make a deep prolonged resonant sound, as of thunder or artillery fire
- to prosper or cause to prosper vigorously and rapidly
business boomed
noun
- a deep prolonged resonant sound
the boom of the sea
- the cry of certain animals, esp the bittern
- See depressiona period of high economic growth characterized by rising wages, profits, and prices, full employment, and high levels of investment, trade, and other economic activity Compare depression
- any similar period of high activity
- the activity itself
a baby boom
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Other Words From
- booming·ly adverb
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Word History and Origins
Origin of boom1
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Word History and Origins
Origin of boom1
Origin of boom2
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Idioms and Phrases
- lower the boom, to take decisive punitive action:
The government has lowered the boom on tax evaders.
More idioms and phrases containing boom
see lower the boom .Discover More
Example Sentences
Ironically, the business of edtech and digital learning has been booming.
These past months, as other industries struggle, Netflix has been booming.
Esports, an already booming industry, have taken on an even greater significance in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
As one publishing executive put it, specialist titles don’t see the same boom and bust cycel as general news publishers.
So even though they lost cross-border traffic, they’re seeing booms in domestic travel.
Turkey has had more than a decade of economic boom, and is now the sixth-most-visited tourist destination in the world.
“I was watching ‘Daniel The Tiger’ with my kid and I heard two shots like ‘boom-boom,’” he said.
But the dress was its own unapologetic sonic boom—and was immediately much-copied.
Christie has a lot riding on fulfilling his promise of shepherding Atlantic City into a third boom era.
The current energy and industrial boom, according to Siemens President Joe Kaeser, “is a once-in-a-lifetime moment.”
There was a distant, dull boom in the air—a repeated heavy thud.
“Boom” refers, of course, to the large amount of support which Cleveland obtained on his second election to the Presidency.
A church clock struck the hour of seven, its clangor intruding upon the silence only as a muffled boom.
It is a generally accepted axiom that a public man cannot afford to be modest in these go-ahead days of "boom."
And as I watched the canvas shake and heard it boom and flap I heartily welcomed it.
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More About Boom
What does boom mean?
A boom is a deep, loud, resonant sound that echoes or travels rapidly, like the sound of thunder.
To boom is to create such a sound, as in The thunder boomed overhead, which scared our poor dog.
A boom is also a rapid increase in prices, development, numbers, and the like, as in Thanks to the new majors, the college is experiencing a boom in student enrollment. When an entire economy goes through a period of quick growth, that, too, is a boom.
To boom is also to grow rapidly, as a business or economy might, as in Houses are selling so fast that the housing market is booming.
Example: There was a loud boom from around the corner and then a few minutes later there were police cars coming from everywhere.
Where does boom come from?
The first records of the term boom come from the 1400s. It ultimately comes from the German bummen, which is meant to imitate the sound. In the early 1900s, boom began being used to describe a period of economic success and is often associated with the American phrase boom-and-bust cycle.
Most often, though, boom is used to define the sound made by a large, dull impact or a resonating sound from far away. Boom is an example of onomatopoeia, a word that imitates the sound it describes, as in The cars made a boom.
Because booms are often associated with a fast or brutal impact and because sound travels extremely fast from one place to another, boom has several uses related to speed, such as to boom from one side of the field to the other, or in the economic sense, as in business was booming.
Did you know … ?
What are some other forms related to boom?
- boomer (noun)
- boomingly (adverb)
What are some synonyms for boom?
What are some words that share a root or word element with boom?
What are some words that often get used in discussing boom?
How is boom used in real life?
Boom is a common word with several meanings.
For real though, what is going on with all the explosions we’ve been hearing here since last night? I’m in South Philly and heard a super loud boom about a half hour ago. It’s not fireworks, its not gunshots, it’s not exploding ATMs, it’s not LRADs, so what *is* it?
— Kim Kelly (@GrimKim) June 3, 2020
how about we stop worshiping celebrities. boom. problem solved.
— B.o.B +1 404-236-6129 (@bobatl) April 26, 2018
it is sky boom season. so if anyone needs me. i’ll be hiding in the bathtub. with my stuffed fren sebastian
— Thoughts of Dog® (@dog_feelings) May 16, 2018
Try using boom!
Is boom used correctly in the following sentence?
Joe has such a big, booming voice that he doesn’t need a microphone to be heard in a big room.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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