as in thud
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
gave the TV a good wham with her fist, and suddenly the picture came back on
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to smack
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wham
Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 28 Oct. 2025
There’s an understood language of action that marries really close-up, sharp inserts, the propulsion of rapid editing, wham-bam sound effects, and visual carnage to create excitement.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 16 Aug. 2025
Easy drinking 100% Merlot with 14% alcohol with flavors that include dark licorice, cinnamon and nutmeg and a wham of a finish.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno and company made their wham-bam-glam debut on ‘Roxy Music’ 50 years ago.
—Jill Krajewski, SPIN, 8 June 2022
Chabon’s magnum opus is a gloriously fun, wham-pow novel of heroes, friendship, magic, the Golden Age of Comics, and sure, okay, Hitler.
—Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 9 Apr. 2020
Perhaps my overall disappointment stems from this pilot stiffness, but the more likely culprit is the standard brashness of American reality television, which is less cinema vérité and more wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am.
—Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2020
But the movie, for all its retrograde politics and wham-bam machismo, can also be slick, silly fun — a giddy exercise in freewheeling nihilism, played to the hilt.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2020
The movie comes at you with a quick, wham-bam style that feels like a nod to the source material, a DC Vertigo comic-book series by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Aug. 2019
SI.com, 21 June 2019
Noun
TreVeyon Henderson covered 12 yards on a wham run, then 18 more on a misdirection toss where fullback Jack Westover and right guard Mike Onwenu presented false keys that indicated an inside run while Henderson zipped outside.
—Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 28 Oct. 2025
There’s an understood language of action that marries really close-up, sharp inserts, the propulsion of rapid editing, wham-bam sound effects, and visual carnage to create excitement.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 16 Aug. 2025
Easy drinking 100% Merlot with 14% alcohol with flavors that include dark licorice, cinnamon and nutmeg and a wham of a finish.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno and company made their wham-bam-glam debut on ‘Roxy Music’ 50 years ago.
—Jill Krajewski, SPIN, 8 June 2022
Chabon’s magnum opus is a gloriously fun, wham-pow novel of heroes, friendship, magic, the Golden Age of Comics, and sure, okay, Hitler.
—Emily Temple, Literary Hub, 9 Apr. 2020
Perhaps my overall disappointment stems from this pilot stiffness, but the more likely culprit is the standard brashness of American reality television, which is less cinema vérité and more wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am.
—Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2020
But the movie, for all its retrograde politics and wham-bam machismo, can also be slick, silly fun — a giddy exercise in freewheeling nihilism, played to the hilt.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2020
The movie comes at you with a quick, wham-bam style that feels like a nod to the source material, a DC Vertigo comic-book series by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Aug. 2019
Verb
Goalscorer Asamoah Gyan took the resulting penalty, only to wham it off the top of the bar.
—SI.com, 21 June 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wham
Noun
-
Come summer, the house settles into a familiar rhythm—one marked by shade, conversation, and the soft thud of falling fruit.—
Vaishnavi Nayel Talawadekar,
Architectural Digest,
24 May 2026
-
Joe threw Ospreay into the barricade to the sound of a sickening thud.—
Alfred Konuwa,
Forbes.com,
24 May 2026
Verb
-
The shot smacked off the front of the rim.—
Fred Katz,
New York Times,
3 June 2026
-
Ben Williamson then smacked a ball to the right side that went off the glove of first baseman Spencer Torkelson, allowing Mullins and Fortes to score.—
Marc Topkin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
2 June 2026
Noun
-
To pay for her medical bills, the family had to sell most of their remaining cattle and goats, a bitter blow after years of drought had already decimated local herds.—
Tommy Trenchard,
NPR,
31 May 2026
-
This makes for a significant setback but not necessarily a fatal blow to the facility.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
31 May 2026
Verb
-
The Rockies’ Kyle Karros hit an opposite-field line drive that carried to the right-field warning track, but Lee tracked down the potential extra-base hit on the run, then crashed into the chain-link portion of the fence.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
30 May 2026
-
The hitting coaches have been really emphasizing it.—
Jeff Fletcher,
Oc Register,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Soon after, hearing the thump of ball on metal gate, Badri stepped outside to check if his message had been heeded.—
Jacob Whitehead,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
-
Agents yelled from every direction, and the thumps of a news helicopter overhead were deafening.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
28 May 2026
Verb
-
Larry Hayes, 86, and Bill Moniz, 79, hit the tennis courts in Mountain View three to four times a week — whacking balls across the net as teammates for one to three hours a week.—
Panashe Matemba-Mutasa,
Mercury News,
27 May 2026
-
The Labour government has whacked levies on private schools, introduced mansion taxes and is attempting to redistribute the nation’s wealth at a pace that would make Vladimir Lenin weep with joy.—
Samantha Conti,
Footwear News,
23 May 2026
Noun
-
As Saints retorted, Williams hit him with a backhand slap.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
30 May 2026
-
Here, The Athletic reviews Everton’s season just gone — their first at Hill Dickinson Stadium and one of highs, lows, slaps and… toasters.—
Patrick Boyland,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
Verb
-
In February, polls showed the crowded field of Democrats splitting liberal voters and opening a statistical possibility that the party would be boxed out of November under California’s open, top-two primary, which places all candidates on the same ballot.—
Seema Mehta,
Los Angeles Times,
3 June 2026
-
Then, the ballots will be boxed up Tuesday night and head back downtown, finishing the process until they're done with certification.—
Charlie Lapastora,
CBS News,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Wham.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wham. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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