What does "boom" mean?
A low-pitched, resonant sound, such as of an explosion.
Boom
/bum/ intj, name, noun, verb, slang
intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A low-pitched, resonant sound, such as of an explosion.
- Grammar: boom is listed as intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: roar, access, accession, accretion.
- Useful contrasts: economic collapse, economic contraction, economic crash.
- Usage evidence: The computer industry is enjoying a boom.
How to use "boom"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "boom" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "boom" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "boom" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "boom" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "boom" is acting as intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "roar" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "boom", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A low-pitched, resonant sound, such as of an explosion.
"the boom of the surf"
- 2 A spar extending the foot of a sail; a spar rigged outboard from a ship's side to which boats are secured in harbour.
"Tighten the outhaul and place the appropriate line in the cam cleat located on the boom about two feet back from the mast."
- 3 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 wordnet
- 4 A rapid expansion or increase.
"You should prepare for the coming boom in the tech industry."
- 5 A specially-designed, movable pole, used to suspend a microphone or camera high above the ground during filming or recording.
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 a pole carrying an overhead microphone projected over a film or tv set wordnet
- 7 A period of prosperity, growth, progress, or high market activity.
- 8 Ellipsis of boom microphone (a microphone supported on such a pole). abbreviation, alt-of, broadly, ellipsis
- 9 a deep prolonged loud noise wordnet
- 10 Ellipsis of sonic boom. abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
- 11 A horizontal member of a crane or derrick, used for lifting.
- 12 a sudden happening that brings good fortune (as a sudden opportunity to make money) wordnet
- 13 One of the calls of certain monkeys or birds.
"Interestingly, the blue monkey's boom and pyow calls are both long-distance signals (Brown, 1989), yet the two calls differ in respect to their susceptibility to habitat-induced degradation."
- 14 The longest element of a Yagi-Uda antenna, on which the other, smaller antennae are transversally mounted.
- 15 a state of economic prosperity wordnet
- 16 An instance of booming. slang
"Some chess commentators know to excitedly point out when booms happen but they almost universally are missing out on the next step of explaining what the boom meant."
- 17 A floating barrier used to obstruct navigation, for military or other purposes; or used for the containment of an oil spill or to control the flow of logs from logging operations.
"I went out on the timber boom and made a few casts, but with little success."
- 18 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.
"The wooden upright was now standing in the middle of the floor, and the two booms were fitted into its grooved side and hoisted as high as hands could reach. [...] Two by two, one at each end, the students proceeded along the boom, hanging by their hands, monkey-wise. [...] Two by two the students somersaulted upwards on to the high boom, turned to a sitting position sideways, and then slowly stood up on the narrow ledge."
- 19 A wishbone-shaped piece of windsurfing equipment.
- 20 The section of the arm on a backhoe closest to the tractor.
Verb
- 1 To make a loud, hollow, resonant sound.
"Thunder boomed in the distance and lightning flashes lit up the horizon."
- 2 To extend, or push, with a boom or pole.
"to boom out a sail"
- 3 grow vigorously wordnet
- 4 To exclaim with force, to shout, to thunder. figuratively, transitive
"I was about to reach for the marmalade, when I heard the telephone tootling out in the hall and rose to attend to it. “Bertram Wooster's residence,” I said, having connected with the instrument. “Wooster in person at this end. Oh hullo,” I added, for the voice that boomed over the wire was that of Mrs Thomas Portarlington Travers of Brinkley Court, Market Snodsbury, near Droitwich – or, putting it another way, my good and deserving Aunt Dahlia. [...] “I'd give a tenner to have Aubrey Upjohn here at this moment.” “You can get him for nothing. He's in Uncle Tom's study.” Her face lit up. “He is?” [Aunt Dahlia] threw her head back and inflated the lungs. “UPJOHN!” she boomed, rather like someone calling the cattle home across the sands of Dee, and I issued a kindly word of warning. “Watch that blood pressure, old ancestor.”"
- 5 To raise or lower with a crane boom. usually
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 hit with great force wordnet
- 7 To flourish, grow, or progress. intransitive
"The population boomed in recent years."
- 8 make a deep hollow sound wordnet
- 9 To make (something) boom. transitive
"Men in grey robes slowly boom the drums of death."
- 10 make a resonant sound, like artillery wordnet
- 11 To make a deep, resonant, territorial vocalisation.
"Miles on miles of quagmire, varied only by bright green strips of comparatively solid ground, and by deep and sullen pools fringed with tall rushes, in which the bitterns boomed and the frogs croaked incessantly[.]"
- 12 be the case that thunder is being heard wordnet
- 13 To cause a sonic boom. intransitive
- 14 To subject (someone or something) to a sonic boom. slang, transitive
- 15 To publicly praise, to rally behind. US, obsolete, slang
"If you pull this off every paper in England and America will be booming you."
- 16 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."
- 17 To rapidly adjust the evaluation of a position away from zero, indicating a likely win or loss. slang
"It can get fast enough that it's hard to see what flashed on your screen though, so it would be nice if chess engines had a feature of persistently showing you what move they planned to play before they boomed, even if it took less than a second for them to figure it out."
- 18 To cause to advance rapidly in price. dated, transitive
"to boom railroad or mining shares"
Intj
- 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.
Proper Noun
- 1 A Belgian town and municipality in the southwest of the Flemish province of Antwerp.
Antonyms
economic collapseeconomic contractioneconomic crashno energy flow
Example
"The computer industry is enjoying a boom."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "boom"?
Common synonyms include: roar, access, accession, accretion, accrual, accrue.
How do you use "boom" in a sentence?
The computer industry is enjoying a boom.
How do you pronounce "boom"?
Pronounced /bum/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Dutch boom (“tree; pole”). Doublet of beam.