boom
//buːm//
Forms
- present (v1)
- boom
- past (v2)
- boomed
- past participle (v3)
- boomed
- present participle
- booming
- 3rd person singular
- booms
- Plural
- booms
Definitions
1.To make a loud, hollow, resonant sound.
- Did you ever hear a bittern booming?
- Beneath the cliff, the sea was booming on the rocks.
- I can hear the organ slowly booming from the chapel.
2.To exclaim with force, to shout, to thunder.
3.To flourish, grow, or progress.
- The population boomed in recent years.
- Over this period, as plants boomed, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dropped by 90 per cent, triggering a period of global cooling.
- “If you look at South Florida right now, this place is booming,” Mr. DeSantis said recently. “Los Angeles isn’t booming. New York City isn’t booming.”
4.To make (something) boom.
- Men in grey robes slowly boom the drums of death.
1.A low-pitched, resonant sound, such as of an explosion.
2.A rapid expansion or increase.
- You should prepare for the coming boom in the tech industry.
- Some of the minor Welsh 2 ft. gauge railways, we hear from Mr. N. F. G. Dalston, are enjoying a miniature boom owing to the demand for slate for the repair of damaged roofs.
3.A period of prosperity, growth, progress, or high market activity.
4.Ellipsis of sonic boom.
Frequency
Overall
Uncommon· #3400
By learning goal
- Everyday conversation
- Rare
- General reading & writing
- Uncommon
- Academic
- Rare
- Literature
- Rare
Etymology
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.