kaboom

noun

ka·​boom kə-ˈbüm How to pronounce kaboom (audio)
plural kabooms
informal : the sound of an explosion or crash
heard a loud kaboom
often used interjectionally
Have you ever watched metallic sodium hit water? Kaboom. Krakatau revisited …Don Asher
But it seems to me that the minute you build an emergency fund—kaboom! Along comes an "emergency."Jane Bryant Quinn
Phrases
go kaboom
1
informal : to explode or crash violently
… when the house exploded the night before, cops believed that it had been a drug factory that went kaboomLarry Celona and Ruth Brown
2
informal : to undergo a sudden, explosive change, failure, etc.
… a few crucial injuries can make the whole equation go kaboom.Paul Zimmerman

Examples of kaboom in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Small details may differ in each loop, but the basic sequence is always the same: Bernard gets to the bank, as do Mulder and Scully, law enforcement rushes in, Bernard panics, and the bank goes kaboom. Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 10 Sep. 2023 Who better to win the Heisman and raise the national championship trophy before the Pac-12 goes kaboom? Joseph Goodman | Jgoodman@al.com, al, 28 Aug. 2023 One false move: kaboom. Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 31 Jan. 2022 According to their impeccable records, the AI was not in control at the time of the kaboom. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022 The clock was running down and the machinery was on the verge of going kaboom. Lance Eliot, Forbes, 1 Aug. 2022 Release that, and the greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere will go kaboom, accelerating the Earth on its trajectory toward catastrophic warming. Washington Post, 10 Aug. 2021 In that movie, Hanks' character, Robert Langdon, has to protect the Vatican from going kaboom. Smriti Rao, Discover Magazine, 23 Feb. 2010

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'kaboom.' 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

ka-, unstressed syllable prefixed to onomatopoeic words + boom entry 2

First Known Use

1876, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of kaboom was in 1876

Dictionary Entries Near kaboom

Cite this Entry

“Kaboom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kaboom. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

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