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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In populated areas, anything above Mach 1 is prohibited due to loud sonic booms. Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 27 Mar. 2025 The aircraft was limited to flights over water, due to the disruption a sonic boom generates, and after a period of limited profits and a disaster that killed 113 people in 2000, combined with declining public interest, the program was retired in 2003. Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 25 Mar. 2025 SpaceX is set to send up a classified payload for the National Reconnaissance Office from the Space Coast that could bring sonic booms across Central Florida on Monday. Richard Tribou, Orlando Sentinel, 24 Mar. 2025 Related article Why sonic booms from the most powerful rocket ever built have some scientists worried SpaceX said what mission teams learned prompted them to alter lines that feed fuel to some of Starship’s engines and tweak propellant temperatures. Ashley Strickland, CNN, 6 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for sonic boom

Word History

First Known Use

1952, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sonic boom was in 1952

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Cite this Entry

“Sonic boom.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sonic%20boom. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.

Kids Definition

sonic boom

noun
: a sound like that of an explosion produced when a shock wave formed at the nose of an aircraft traveling at supersonic speed reaches the ground

More from Merriam-Webster on sonic boom

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