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.
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 28 Nov. 2023
Related Stories As the nonfiction market has boomed, largely thanks to streaming supercharging the once sleepy industry, there have been growing ethical concerns among those in the doc community.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Nov. 2023
The industry is booming: The median house price in Montana has doubled since 2015.
—Christopher Flavelle, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2023
The stock has boomed as investors have gobbled up shares tied to artificial intelligence.
—David Marino-Nachison, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
The video game industry boomed during the pandemic.
—Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2023
Sales of heat pumps are booming all over the world; some 4 million were installed in the US in 2021, up from 1.7 million in 2012.
—WIRED, 17 Nov. 2023
Jared Siskin—Getty Images for Burberry Luxury spending was booming during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the tide has since turned.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 16 Nov. 2023
Instead, weekend Metrorail ridership boomed to 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
—Justin George, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023
Ellise Shafer, Variety, 29 Nov. 2023
Flagship opens a European front In the more than two decades since it was founded, Flagship Pioneering has grown into a symbol of the biotech boom in Cambridge, and, specifically, in Kendall Square.
—Damian Garde, STAT, 29 Nov. 2023
But by the late 1940s, in the first flush of the postwar boom, Poppa started to hit his stride.
—Bob Brody, Fortune, 23 Nov. 2023
The result of these and other, competing software products has been a widespread boom in the use of AI for a variety of tasks including filmmaking, cover-letter writing and dating — and, in some cases, a backlash over job displacement and other ramifications of mass automation.
—Brian Contreras, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2023
Nvidia reported another quarter of record sales and gave a strong revenue outlook, pointing to red-hot demand for chips that underpin the artificial-intelligence boom.
—Asa Fitch, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
OpenAI named ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, while outgoing chief Sam Altman is set to join backer Microsoft in a surprise turn of events for the startup at the heart of an artificial intelligence boom.
—Jeffrey Dastin, Anna Tong, and Stephanie Kelly, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Nov. 2023
Melin had suspected Ukraine’s EV boom would end with the war.
—WIRED, 17 Nov. 2023
While The New York Times and Vox declared the boom ended last year, escaping newsletters seems impossible.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 15 Nov. 2023
See More
Verb
Over the past three decades construction has boomed across the largest emirate in the United Arab Emirates.
—Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 28 Nov. 2023
Related Stories As the nonfiction market has boomed, largely thanks to streaming supercharging the once sleepy industry, there have been growing ethical concerns among those in the doc community.
—Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Nov. 2023
The industry is booming: The median house price in Montana has doubled since 2015.
—Christopher Flavelle, New York Times, 24 Nov. 2023
The stock has boomed as investors have gobbled up shares tied to artificial intelligence.
—David Marino-Nachison, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
The video game industry boomed during the pandemic.
—Laura Blasey, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2023
Sales of heat pumps are booming all over the world; some 4 million were installed in the US in 2021, up from 1.7 million in 2012.
—WIRED, 17 Nov. 2023
Jared Siskin—Getty Images for Burberry Luxury spending was booming during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the tide has since turned.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 16 Nov. 2023
Instead, weekend Metrorail ridership boomed to 90 percent of pre-pandemic levels.
—Justin George, Washington Post, 17 Nov. 2023
Noun
During the streaming boom, Sony was one of the few big entertainment companies that held back from creating its own platform.
—Ellise Shafer, Variety, 29 Nov. 2023
Flagship opens a European front In the more than two decades since it was founded, Flagship Pioneering has grown into a symbol of the biotech boom in Cambridge, and, specifically, in Kendall Square.
—Damian Garde, STAT, 29 Nov. 2023
But by the late 1940s, in the first flush of the postwar boom, Poppa started to hit his stride.
—Bob Brody, Fortune, 23 Nov. 2023
The result of these and other, competing software products has been a widespread boom in the use of AI for a variety of tasks including filmmaking, cover-letter writing and dating — and, in some cases, a backlash over job displacement and other ramifications of mass automation.
—Brian Contreras, Los Angeles Times, 22 Nov. 2023
Nvidia reported another quarter of record sales and gave a strong revenue outlook, pointing to red-hot demand for chips that underpin the artificial-intelligence boom.
—Asa Fitch, WSJ, 21 Nov. 2023
OpenAI named ex-Twitch boss Emmett Shear as interim CEO, while outgoing chief Sam Altman is set to join backer Microsoft in a surprise turn of events for the startup at the heart of an artificial intelligence boom.
—Jeffrey Dastin, Anna Tong, and Stephanie Kelly, The Christian Science Monitor, 20 Nov. 2023
Melin had suspected Ukraine’s EV boom would end with the war.
—WIRED, 17 Nov. 2023
While The New York Times and Vox declared the boom ended last year, escaping newsletters seems impossible.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 15 Nov. 2023
See More
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.
Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English bomben, bummen, of imitative origin
Noun (2)
Dutch, tree, beam; akin to Old High German boum tree — more at beam
First Known Use
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1
Noun (1)
circa 1500, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Noun (2)
1627, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of boom was
in the 15th century
Phrases Containing boom
Articles Related to boom
Dictionary Entries Near boom
Cite this Entry
“Boom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/boom. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.
Copy Citation
Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on boom
Nglish: Translation of boom for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of boom for Arabic Speakers
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share