sonic boom
noun
: a sound resembling an explosion produced when a shock wave formed at the nose of an aircraft traveling at supersonic speed reaches the ground
called also sonic bang
Examples of sonic boom in a Sentence
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The United States Geological Survey has confirmed that the mysterious noise heard across Massachusetts Saturday afternoon, prompting rampant curiosity, was a sonic boom from a meteor.
—
Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 30 May 2026
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted with a power hundreds of times stronger than the Hiroshima nuclear explosion, setting off a tsunami and a sonic boom that went around the planet twice.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
The first-stage booster flew for the seventh time, and made a recovery landing at Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40), which meant Central Florida was in store for a sonic boom.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 May 2026
The plaintiffs, who primarily live in the cities of Port Isabel and South Padre Island, the two closest communities to Starbase, argue that the intense engine noise of both Starship’s liftoff and the return of the Super Heavy booster, along with sonic booms, caused damage to their homes.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 8 May 2026
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Lance Reynolds, Boston Herald, 30 May 2026
The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcano erupted with a power hundreds of times stronger than the Hiroshima nuclear explosion, setting off a tsunami and a sonic boom that went around the planet twice.
—Laura Paddison, CNN Money, 30 May 2026
The first-stage booster flew for the seventh time, and made a recovery landing at Landing Zone 40 (LZ-40), which meant Central Florida was in store for a sonic boom.
—Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 30 May 2026
The plaintiffs, who primarily live in the cities of Port Isabel and South Padre Island, the two closest communities to Starbase, argue that the intense engine noise of both Starship’s liftoff and the return of the Super Heavy booster, along with sonic booms, caused damage to their homes.
—Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 8 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for sonic boom
Cite this Entry
“Sonic boom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sonic%20boom. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
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