boomerang

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noun boo·mer·ang \ ˈbü-mə-ˌraŋ \

Definition of boomerang

1 :a bent or angular throwing club typically flat on one side and rounded on the other so that it soars or curves in flight; especially :one designed to return near the thrower

2 :an act or utterance that backfires on its originator

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boomerang

intransitive verb

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Recent Examples of boomerang from the Web

Down Under’ and riffing about boomerangs made in Leighton Buzzard, an English town.

— charlotte ryan, Bloomberg.com, "Boris Johnson Puts on Show: Brexit Paranoia Like Millennium Bug," 27 July 2017
When the 12-foot par putt rolled in, Russell Knox fired his hat like a boomerang and let out a roar.

— william s. paxton, USA TODAY, "Russell Knox juggles his time on PGA, European tours," 21 June 2017
Chanel has issued a statement following online criticism over its $1,325 boomerang, which some have said appropriates indigenous Australian culture.

— stephanie chan, The Hollywood Reporter, "Chanel Responds to Boomerang Controversy After Facing Backlash," 16 May 2017
Some social media posts pointed out that other retail outlets sell boomerangs as toys -- including Australian tourist shops.

— elizabeth roberts, CNN, "Chanel's £1,130 boomerang condemned as "cultural appropriation"," 16 May 2017
Try your hand at dot painting, building fire with sticks or spear and boomerang throwing, and even feed a baby wallaby.

— Smithsonian, "Discover more of the Northern Territory's Top End.," 7 Apr. 2017
Aja Naomi King’s movie ascendancy as the slave girl Cherry in Nate Parker’s blazing battle cry, The Birth of a Nation (based on the Nat Turner rebellion of 1831), is a complete boomerang from the role that made her television rep.

— vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, "The 2017 Vanity Fair Hollywood Portfolio: Wonder Women," 26 Jan. 2017
So Westaway and his colleagues speculate he was attacked with a boomerang designed to whip around the edge of a shield.

— robert haidinger, National Geographic, "Boomerangs Were Lethal Weapons of War, Skeleton Suggests," 19 Sep. 2016
Call it the harbinger of a giant outsourcing boomerang.

— kevin maney, WIRED, "The New Face of IBM," 1 July 2005

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'boomerang.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of boomerang

Dharuk (Australian aboriginal language of the Port Jackson area) bumarinʸ

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First Known Use: 1824

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BOOMERANG Defined for English Language Learners

boomerang

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noun

Definition of boomerang for English Language Learners

: a curved, flat, wooden tool that can be thrown in such a way that it returns to the thrower

BOOMERANG Defined for Kids

boomerang

play

noun boo·mer·ang \ ˈbü-mə-ˌraŋ \

Definition of boomerang for Students

:a curved club that can be thrown so as to return to the thrower

History for boomerang

The word boomerang was taken from a language called Dharuk, spoken by the native Australian people who lived around what is today Sydney, Australia, when the first Europeans landed there in 1788. Many Dharuk speakers died of smallpox, brought by European colonists, and the language was almost completely out of use by about 1850. Curiously, the earliest record of Dharuk, taken down in 1790, incorrectly described boomerang as a kind of wooden sword.

Learn More about boomerang

See words that rhyme with boomerang Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for boomerang Spanish Central: Translation of boomerang Nglish: Translation of boomerang for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about boomerang

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