boomed; booming; booms
1
: to make a deep hollow sound
2
a
: to increase in importance, popularity, or esteem
b
: to experience a sudden rapid growth and expansion usually with an increase in prices
business was booming
c
: to develop rapidly in population and importance
California boomed when gold was discovered there
d
: to increase greatly in size or number
the population boomed
1
: to cause to resound
—often used with out
his voice booms out the lyrics
2
: to cause a rapid growth or increase of : boost
3
: to hit or kick forcefully
boom a punt
1
: a booming sound or cry
—often used interjectionally to indicate suddenness
then boom, he was fired
2
: a rapid expansion or increase: such as
a
: a general movement in support of a candidate for office
b
: rapid settlement and development of a town or district
c
: a rapid widespread expansion of economic activity
d
: an upsurge in activity, interest, or popularity
a folk music boom
1
: a long spar used to extend the foot of a sail
2
a
: a chain or line of connected floating timbers extended across a river, lake, or harbor (as to obstruct passage or catch floating objects)
b
: a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill
3
a
: a long beam projecting from the mast of a derrick to support or guide cargo
b
: a long more or less horizontal supporting arm or brace (as for holding a microphone)
4
: a spar or outrigger connecting the tail surfaces and the main supporting structure of an aircraft
Synonyms
Examples of boom in a Sentence
Verb
the sound of the bass drum booming
His voice boomed out across the congregation.
She boomed commands from the stern of the ship.
“What's going on here?” he boomed.
Housing construction has boomed in the past year.
Last year we almost had to close the store, but now business is booming.
Recent Examples on the Web
Matt Krupnick, The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
The region’s freight industry has boomed in tandem.
—Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2024
Rather than settling down, the economy appears to be booming as prices continue to climb more quickly than usual.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The November 2020 comments had come just two months after the renowned long driver had boomed his way to a six-shot victory at the US Open to clinch his first major title but have served to haunt DeChambeau ever since.
—Jack Bantock, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
The despondent chocolatier then confesses to the kids that business hasn't exactly been booming in recent years.
—EW.com, 10 Apr. 2024
For example, local businesses in cities with large projects (such as Phoenix or New Albany, Ohio) may boom, while companies in almost any industry nationwide could face stiffer competition for tech-literate employees.
—Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2024
Psychedelics research is booming in a way that marijuana research never really has.
—Jane C. Hu, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2024
Just Blew One Up In Eastern Ukraine This is fatal at a time when the beauty and body care industry is booming and competition is savage - largely led by monopolies at one end of the spectrum and niche players at the other.
—Sairah Ashman, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 14 Apr. 2024
That song was released before the big boom of ‘90s country introduced fans to folks like Toby Keith, Tim McGraw or Garth Books.
—Jake Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Apr. 2024
Coming out of the pandemic, sports has benefited from people’s willingness to shell out for live experiences, similar to the boom seen in travel and concerts.
—Kevin Draper Doug Mills, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Pivoting to defense When Matus was launching Teal in 2015, investors anticipated a commercial boom: Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos had announced ambitions to deliver packages by drone nationwide as early as 2017.
—Eva Dou, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
The company that transformed online retail wants in on the generative AI boom — and is optimistic much of it will be built on its cloud computing service.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
But the election risks that AI amplifies—disinformation, vote suppression, election security hazards, and so on—long predate the advent of the generative-AI boom.
—Mekela Panditharatne, TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
And in the midst of the Treasure Valley’s population and construction boom, these materials are playing an outsize role in the waste that’s filling up the landfill much faster than expected.
—Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 8 Apr. 2024
After a boom in activity during the pandemic, platforms, including Instagram and Snapchat, are seeing declining user activity and decreased investor confidence.
—Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
Verb
By the numbers, Tohono O’odham Community College is booming.
—Matt Krupnick, The Arizona Republic, 14 Apr. 2024
The region’s freight industry has boomed in tandem.
—Jaime Moore-Carrillo, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 11 Apr. 2024
Rather than settling down, the economy appears to be booming as prices continue to climb more quickly than usual.
—Jeanna Smialek, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2024
The November 2020 comments had come just two months after the renowned long driver had boomed his way to a six-shot victory at the US Open to clinch his first major title but have served to haunt DeChambeau ever since.
—Jack Bantock, CNN, 11 Apr. 2024
The despondent chocolatier then confesses to the kids that business hasn't exactly been booming in recent years.
—EW.com, 10 Apr. 2024
For example, local businesses in cities with large projects (such as Phoenix or New Albany, Ohio) may boom, while companies in almost any industry nationwide could face stiffer competition for tech-literate employees.
—Geoff Colvin, Fortune, 8 Apr. 2024
Psychedelics research is booming in a way that marijuana research never really has.
—Jane C. Hu, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2024
Just Blew One Up In Eastern Ukraine This is fatal at a time when the beauty and body care industry is booming and competition is savage - largely led by monopolies at one end of the spectrum and niche players at the other.
—Sairah Ashman, Forbes, 28 Mar. 2024
Noun
But older workers are often left out of the employment boom.
—Nicole Goodkind, CNN, 14 Apr. 2024
That song was released before the big boom of ‘90s country introduced fans to folks like Toby Keith, Tim McGraw or Garth Books.
—Jake Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Apr. 2024
Coming out of the pandemic, sports has benefited from people’s willingness to shell out for live experiences, similar to the boom seen in travel and concerts.
—Kevin Draper Doug Mills, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2024
Pivoting to defense When Matus was launching Teal in 2015, investors anticipated a commercial boom: Amazon’s founder Jeff Bezos had announced ambitions to deliver packages by drone nationwide as early as 2017.
—Eva Dou, Washington Post, 11 Apr. 2024
The company that transformed online retail wants in on the generative AI boom — and is optimistic much of it will be built on its cloud computing service.
—Britney Nguyen, Quartz, 11 Apr. 2024
But the election risks that AI amplifies—disinformation, vote suppression, election security hazards, and so on—long predate the advent of the generative-AI boom.
—Mekela Panditharatne, TIME, 10 Apr. 2024
And in the midst of the Treasure Valley’s population and construction boom, these materials are playing an outsize role in the waste that’s filling up the landfill much faster than expected.
—Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 8 Apr. 2024
After a boom in activity during the pandemic, platforms, including Instagram and Snapchat, are seeing declining user activity and decreased investor confidence.
—Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'boom.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Boom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boom. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
boom
1 of 3 noun1
: a long pole used especially to stretch the bottom of a sail
2
a
: a long beam sticking out from the mast of a derrick to support or guide something that is being lifted
b
: a long arm used to move a microphone
3
: a line of connected floating timbers (as across a river) to obstruct passage or catch floating objects
boom
2 of 3 verb1
: to make a deep hollow rumbling sound
2
a
: to increase in importance or popularity
b
: to experience a boom (as in growth)
boom
3 of 3 noun1
: a booming sound or cry
2
: a rapid increase in growth, popularity, or prosperity
especially
: a rapid widespread expansion of business
Etymology
Noun
from Dutch boom "tree, wooden beam"
Verb
a word imitating the sound
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