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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

boom.

To make a loud, hollow, resonant sound.

4 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

verb/buːm/Received-Pronunciation, Wales/bʉwm/British, Southern, Standard/bum/US/bʉːm/Australia, New-Zealand
  1. To make a loud, hollow, resonant sound.

    Thunder boomed in the distance and lightning flashes lit up the horizon.
    The cannon boomed, recoiled, and spewed a heavy smoke cloud.
  2. To exclaim with force, to shout, to thunder.

    figuratively · transitive
  3. To flourish, grow, or progress.

    intransitive
    The population boomed in recent years.
    Business was booming.
  4. To make (something) boom.

    transitive
    Men in grey robes slowly boom the drums of death.
  5. To make a deep, resonant, territorial vocalisation.

  6. To cause a sonic boom.

    intransitive
  7. To subject (someone or something) to a sonic boom.

    slang · transitive
  8. To publicly praise, to rally behind.

    US · obsolete · slang
  9. To rush forwards with such violent intensity that it generates a sustained, overwhelming, roaring noise; especially from the perspective of a bystander who has been suddenly subjected to it.

    The train boomed through the station without stopping.
    The ship was booming under the press of sail.
  10. To rapidly adjust the evaluation of a position away from zero, indicating a likely win or loss.

    slang
  11. To cause to advance rapidly in price.

    dated · transitive
    to boom railroad or mining shares
Where this word comes from

Onomatopoeic, perhaps borrowed; compare German bummen, Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”). The sense "a period of economic growth" is generally taken to derive from the sense "a rapid expansion", although other origins have also been suggested.

noun/buːm/Received-Pronunciation, Wales/bʉwm/British, Southern, Standard/bum/US/bʉːm/Australia, New-Zealand
  1. A low-pitched, resonant sound, such as of an explosion.

    the boom of the surf
  2. A rapid expansion or increase.

    You should prepare for the coming boom in the tech industry.
  3. A period of prosperity, growth, progress, or high market activity.

  4. Ellipsis of sonic boom.

    abbreviation · alt-of · ellipsis
  5. One of the calls of certain monkeys or birds.

  6. An instance of booming.

    slang
Where this word comes from

Onomatopoeic, perhaps borrowed; compare German bummen, Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”). The sense "a period of economic growth" is generally taken to derive from the sense "a rapid expansion", although other origins have also been suggested.

intj/buːm/Received-Pronunciation, Wales/bʉwm/British, Southern, Standard/bum/US/bʉːm/Australia, New-Zealand
  1. Used to suggest the sound of an explosion.

    crash boom bang
  2. Used to suggest something happening suddenly or unexpectedly; voilà.

    Add one cup of hot water, wait a minute, and boom — your cup of ramen is ready.
  3. The sound of a bass drum beating.

  4. The sound of a cannon firing.

Where this word comes from

Onomatopoeic, perhaps borrowed; compare German bummen, Dutch bommen (“to hum, buzz”). The sense "a period of economic growth" is generally taken to derive from the sense "a rapid expansion", although other origins have also been suggested.

noun/buːm/Received-Pronunciation, Wales/bʉwm/British, Southern, Standard/bum/US/bʉːm/Australia, New-Zealand
  1. A spar extending the foot of a sail; a spar rigged outboard from a ship's side to which boats are secured in harbour.

  2. A specially-designed, movable pole, used to suspend a microphone or camera high above the ground during filming or recording.

  3. Ellipsis of boom microphone (a microphone supported on such a pole).

    abbreviation · alt-of · broadly · ellipsis
  4. A horizontal member of a crane or derrick, used for lifting.

  5. The longest element of a Yagi-Uda antenna, on which the other, smaller antennae are transversally mounted.

  6. A boom barrier; a lowerable bar used to block vehicle access.

  7. A floating barrier used to obstruct navigation on water, for military or other purposes; or used for the containment of an oil spill or to control the flow of logs from logging operations.

  8. A gymnastics apparatus, similar to a balance beam, which must be traversed as part of an obstacle course, typically as a training exercise in school or as part of basic training for new military recruits.

  9. A wishbone-shaped piece of windsurfing equipment.

  10. The section of the arm on a backhoe closest to the tractor.

Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Dutch boom (“tree; pole”). Doublet of beam.

verb/buːm/Received-Pronunciation, Wales/bʉwm/British, Southern, Standard/bum/US/bʉːm/Australia, New-Zealand
  1. To extend, or push, with a boom or pole.

    to boom out a sail
    to boom off a boat
  2. To raise or lower with a crane boom.

    usually
Where this word comes from

Borrowed from Dutch boom (“tree; pole”). Doublet of beam.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.