su·per·son·ic
ˌsü-pər-ˈsä-nik 
1
2
: of, being, or relating to speeds from one to five times the speed of sound in air compare sonic
3
: moving, capable of moving, or utilizing air currents moving at supersonic speed
4
: relating to supersonic airplanes or missiles
the supersonic age
1
: a supersonic wave or frequency
2
: a supersonic airplane
Examples of supersonic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Joby Warrick, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Offering a real sense of time and place, the dining room greets guests nose-to-nose with a 48-foot Concorde passenger jet sculpture suspended from the ceiling that pays tribute to the last supersonic transatlantic flight between New York and London.
—Stacey Wreathall, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
Here’s what travelers should know about the supersonic test flights launching in the US in 2024.
—Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Jan. 2024
Boom’s goal is to create the Overture, a supersonic business jet that can accommodate 10 to 20 people.
—Daniel Cote, Robb Report, 27 Mar. 2024
In a magical time called the 20th century, there were supersonic passenger jets that could fly rich people from New York to London in less than three hours.
—Owen Bellwood / Jalopnik, Quartz, 21 Feb. 2024
Its 33 engines boost the spacecraft, which could eventually carry NASA astronauts to the moon’s surface, on a supersonic journey headed for space.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024
India is scheduled to deliver the first of three batteries of supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines this year, part of a $375 million contract.
—Regine Cabato, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
The single-seat, supersonic Su-35s are the Russian air force’s newest active fighters, but the twin-seat, supersonic Su-34s are much more important to the Russian war effort.
—David Axe, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 16 Mar. 2020
There’s no amount of computing power that can make the Wright Flyer supersonic.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian, 11 Dec. 2019
Virgin Galactic, on its fifth supersonic, rocket- powered test flight, successfully sent passenger Beth Moses, the company's Chief Astronaut Instructor, to the edge of space, the first non-pilot to ever fly on a commercial aircraft.
—David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 22 Feb. 2019
But this is the year the FAA will once again open the door to supersonics.
—Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 7 Jan. 2019
The Devils landed winger Patrick Maroon, no stranger to riding shotgun beside former superstar teammates like Connor McDavid and Ryan Getzlaf, as well as the supersonic Michael Grabner last Thursday.
—Alex Prewitt, SI.com, 27 Feb. 2018
Simply put, not enough passengers could afford to fly supersonic.
—Jeff Wise, Popular Mechanics, 28 Feb. 2017
The SuperSonics had back-to-back picks, Nos. 6 and 7, after their championship and took Rutgers’ James Bailey ahead of Johnson.
—cleveland.com, 20 June 2017
To this day, basketball fans in Seattle are upset that their beloved SuperSonics left in 2008 for Oklahoma City.
—Kevin Spain, USA TODAY, 16 June 2017
Adjective
These slim cylindrical machines spin at supersonic speeds to create a form of uranium that contains higher concentrations of an isotope called U-235, the part of uranium that can be easily split to create a nuclear chain reaction.
—Joby Warrick, Washington Post, 10 Apr. 2024
Offering a real sense of time and place, the dining room greets guests nose-to-nose with a 48-foot Concorde passenger jet sculpture suspended from the ceiling that pays tribute to the last supersonic transatlantic flight between New York and London.
—Stacey Wreathall, Travel + Leisure, 6 Apr. 2024
Here’s what travelers should know about the supersonic test flights launching in the US in 2024.
—Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Jan. 2024
Boom’s goal is to create the Overture, a supersonic business jet that can accommodate 10 to 20 people.
—Daniel Cote, Robb Report, 27 Mar. 2024
In a magical time called the 20th century, there were supersonic passenger jets that could fly rich people from New York to London in less than three hours.
—Owen Bellwood / Jalopnik, Quartz, 21 Feb. 2024
Its 33 engines boost the spacecraft, which could eventually carry NASA astronauts to the moon’s surface, on a supersonic journey headed for space.
—Ashley Strickland, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024
India is scheduled to deliver the first of three batteries of supersonic cruise missiles to the Philippines this year, part of a $375 million contract.
—Regine Cabato, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024
The single-seat, supersonic Su-35s are the Russian air force’s newest active fighters, but the twin-seat, supersonic Su-34s are much more important to the Russian war effort.
—David Axe, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
Noun
The Low Boom Flight Demonstrator Project hopes to revive commercial supersonic by reducing a jet’s sonic boom.
—Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 16 Mar. 2020
There’s no amount of computing power that can make the Wright Flyer supersonic.
—Brian Handwerk, Smithsonian, 11 Dec. 2019
Virgin Galactic, on its fifth supersonic, rocket- powered test flight, successfully sent passenger Beth Moses, the company's Chief Astronaut Instructor, to the edge of space, the first non-pilot to ever fly on a commercial aircraft.
—David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 22 Feb. 2019
But this is the year the FAA will once again open the door to supersonics.
—Joe Pappalardo, Popular Mechanics, 7 Jan. 2019
The Devils landed winger Patrick Maroon, no stranger to riding shotgun beside former superstar teammates like Connor McDavid and Ryan Getzlaf, as well as the supersonic Michael Grabner last Thursday.
—Alex Prewitt, SI.com, 27 Feb. 2018
Simply put, not enough passengers could afford to fly supersonic.
—Jeff Wise, Popular Mechanics, 28 Feb. 2017
The SuperSonics had back-to-back picks, Nos. 6 and 7, after their championship and took Rutgers’ James Bailey ahead of Johnson.
—cleveland.com, 20 June 2017
To this day, basketball fans in Seattle are upset that their beloved SuperSonics left in 2008 for Oklahoma City.
—Kevin Spain, USA TODAY, 16 June 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'supersonic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Supersonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/supersonic. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
supersonic
adjective
su·per·son·ic
ˌsü-pər-ˈsän-ik
1
2
: of, being, or relating to speeds from one to five times the speed of sound in air
3
: moving, capable of moving, or using air currents moving at supersonic speed
a supersonic airplane
supersonically
adverb
-i-k(ə-)lē
Medical Definition
supersonic
1 of 2 adjective
su·per·son·ic
-ˈsän-ik
2
: of, being, or relating to speeds from one to five times the speed of sound in air compare sonic
3
: moving, capable of moving, or utilizing air currents moving at supersonic speed
4
: relating to supersonic airplanes or missiles
the supersonic age
supersonic
2 of 2 noun1
: a supersonic wave or frequency
2
: a supersonic airplane
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