the sound barrier
noun
: the large increase in air resistance that occurs as an aircraft nears the speed of sound and that was once an obstacle to traveling faster than the speed of sound
a plane that is able to break the sound barrier
Examples of the sound barrier in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The F-15s will now be used to support research flights of NASA's new X-59 'quiet' supersonic jet, an aircraft designed to fly at supersonic speeds without producing the thunderous sonic booms typically associated with breaking the sound barrier.
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Julian Dossett, Space.com, 27 Jan. 2026
In 2023, China’s ‘electromagnetic sledge’ system became the first large-scale electromagnetic launcher to break the sound barrier.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 26 Jan. 2026
Hypersonic flight may seem like the biggest shove to the envelope since the sound barrier was broken in 1947 and rotating detonation may look like a quantum leap in propulsion, but combining the two shows how far both of these have come in recent years.
—New Atlas, 14 Jan. 2026
In 1969: The French Concorde 001 broke the sound barrier and went on to become the first commercial supersonic aircraft, flying passengers across the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound for more than two decades.
—Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025
That included one dazzling extended jam after another that broke barriers — including some threats of breaking the sound barrier, given the speed of the playing — and pushed boundaries.
—Piet Levy, jsonline.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Green, a former Royal Air Force fighter pilot, remains the only person ever to break the sound barrier on land.
—Chloe Mayer, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
Currently, there are several supersonic passenger jets in development that aim to reach speeds beyond Mach 1 without crashing loudly through the sound barrier.
—Edward Russell, CNN Money, 5 June 2025
Boom, the American company building what promises to be the world’s fastest airliner, broke the sound barrier for its first time with a test flight in Mojave, California.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025
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Julian Dossett, Space.com, 27 Jan. 2026
In 2023, China’s ‘electromagnetic sledge’ system became the first large-scale electromagnetic launcher to break the sound barrier.
—Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 26 Jan. 2026
Hypersonic flight may seem like the biggest shove to the envelope since the sound barrier was broken in 1947 and rotating detonation may look like a quantum leap in propulsion, but combining the two shows how far both of these have come in recent years.
—New Atlas, 14 Jan. 2026
In 1969: The French Concorde 001 broke the sound barrier and went on to become the first commercial supersonic aircraft, flying passengers across the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound for more than two decades.
—Lorenzino Estrada, AZCentral.com, 1 Oct. 2025
That included one dazzling extended jam after another that broke barriers — including some threats of breaking the sound barrier, given the speed of the playing — and pushed boundaries.
—Piet Levy, jsonline.com, 9 Aug. 2025
Green, a former Royal Air Force fighter pilot, remains the only person ever to break the sound barrier on land.
—Chloe Mayer, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
Currently, there are several supersonic passenger jets in development that aim to reach speeds beyond Mach 1 without crashing loudly through the sound barrier.
—Edward Russell, CNN Money, 5 June 2025
Boom, the American company building what promises to be the world’s fastest airliner, broke the sound barrier for its first time with a test flight in Mojave, California.
—Maureen O'Hare, CNN, 28 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“The sound barrier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20sound%20barrier. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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