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.
Thunder boomed in the distance and lightning flashes lit up the horizon.
The cannon boomed, recoiled, and spewed a heavy smoke cloud.
3 more examples
Beneath the cliff, the sea was booming on the rocks.
I can hear the organ slowly booming from the chapel.
Did you ever hear a bittern booming?1902, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles:
2
Figuratively, Of speech To exclaim with force, to shout, to thunder.
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.”1960, P[elham] G[renville] Wodehouse, “I AND XVII”, in Jeeves in the Offing, London: Herbert Jenkins, →OCLC:
3
To flourish, grow, or progress.
The population boomed in recent years.
Business was booming.
2 more examples
“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.”2021 March 22, Neil Vigdor, Michael Majchrowicz, Azi Paybarah, quoting Ron DeSantis, “Miami Beach, Overwhelmed by Spring Break, Extends Emergency Curfew”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
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.2020, Merlin Sheldrake, Entangled Life, page 145:
4
To make (something) boom.
Men in grey robes slowly boom the drums of death.
5
Of a Eurasian bittern 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[.]1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
If you pull this off every paper in England and America will be booming you.1922, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Problem of Thor Bridge:
This unexpected stand on the budget met with some displeasure from his Democratic colleagues and the Administration , particularly in light of the fact that Truman had not forgotten that Douglas boomed Eisenhower as the Democrat nominee for President in 1948.1964, Jerry Maynard Anderson, Paul H. Douglas: Insurgent Senate Spokesman for Humane Causes, 1949-1963:
1 more example
Field's ostensible reason for going to Texas was to attend the second annual Texas Roundup in Austin. He boomed Roosevelt there. “Governor Roosevelt has all the strength possessed by Al Smith and none of Smith's weaknesses,” he told reporters.2019 October 22, Norman D. Brown, Biscuits, the Dole, and Nodding Donkeys: Texas Politics, 1929–1932, University of Texas Press, →ISBN:
9
Of a vehicle 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.
1 more example
She comes booming down before it.1841, Benjamin Totten, Naval Text-book and Dictionary […] :
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.2021 January 23, Bram Cohen, “You're doing computer chess game commentary wrong”, in Medium, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2022:
In its White game Stockfish had various moments of booming during these long thinks, but these long thinks always ended disappointingly in a slightly lower evaluation than it started with.2022 April 22, Matthew Sadler, “TCEC Season 22 SuperFinal: Komodo Dragon vs Stockfish”, in TCEC, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2022:
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.
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.
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.1941 March, “Notes and News: The Demand for Slate”, in Railway Magazine, page 141:
3
Business, Economics, Sciences A period of prosperity, growth, progress, or high market activity.
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.1990, Mark A. Berkley, William C. Stebbins, Comparative Perception:
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.2021 January 23, Bram Cohen, “You're doing computer chess game commentary wrong”, in Medium, archived from the original on 06 Dec 2022:
The evaluation boom and moob continued as Stockfish headed for a queen-rook-knight vs queen-rook-knight position that looked pretty nasty to me!2022 April 22, Matthew Sadler, “TCEC Season 22 SuperFinal: Komodo Dragon vs Stockfish”, in TCEC, archived from the original on 13 Dec 2022:
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.
1
Used to suggest the sound of an explosion.
crash boom bang
In regards to what happened to Mutsu, well, it went BOOM. To be more prosaic about it, there were a number of theories put forward as to why Mutsu's magazine for its aft superfiring turret exploded, some of them more plausible than others.2020 January 12, Drachinifel, 47:06 from the start, in The Drydock - Episode 076, archived from the original on 26 Sep 2022:
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.
So we went around the corner, looked in the garbage, and, boom, there's about 16 of the tapes he didn't like!1993, Vibe, volume 1, number 2:
1 more example
Hostile race relations and chronic unemployment are ignored in the suburbs of Paris, London and Sydney, and boom! there are riots.2013, Peter Westoby, Gerard Dowling, Theory and Practice of Dialogical Community Development:
Nautical, Sailing, Transport 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.(Can we date this quote?), “Pico Rigging Instructions”, in California State University, Sacramento, page 1:
2
Arts, Broadcasting, Film, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Media, Photography, Television, Videography A specially-designed, movable pole, used to suspend a microphone or camera high above the ground during filming or recording.
3
Arts, Broadcasting, Film, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Media, Photography, Television, VideographyAbbreviation, Broadly, Ellipsis Ellipsis of boom microphone (a microphone supported on such a pole).
4
A horizontal member of a crane or derrick, used for lifting.
A boom barrier; a lowerable bar used to block vehicle access.
7
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.1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 152:
8
Gymnastics, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports 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.1948, Josephine Tey, Miss Pym Disposes:
9
A wishbone-shaped piece of windsurfing equipment.
10
The section of the arm on a backhoe closest to the tractor.