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
Recent Examples on the Web
For nearly a decade, NASA has been working to engineer a plane that can fly faster than the speed of sound without resulting in disruptive sonic booms.
—
Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 6 June 2026
That market dried up in 1973, when the Federal Aviation Administration banned such flights to protect people and property from loud sonic booms.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 5 June 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, 4 June 2026
The event caused a sonic boom and visible fireball in the sky across the a large swath of the Northeast United States and into Canada.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 1 June 2026
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Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 6 June 2026
That market dried up in 1973, when the Federal Aviation Administration banned such flights to protect people and property from loud sonic booms.
—Mike Wall, Space.com, 5 June 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, 4 June 2026
The event caused a sonic boom and visible fireball in the sky across the a large swath of the Northeast United States and into Canada.
—Grace Zokovitch, Boston Herald, 1 June 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 8 Jun. 2026.
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