shazam

American  

[shuh-zam] / ʃəˈzæm /

Or Shazam

interjection

1. (used to express or indicate a sudden appearance, transformation, or other occurrence).

   I wished to be in Paris and, shazam!—there I was in front of the Eiffel tower.

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Etymology

Origin of shazam

Coined in 1940 by writer B. Parker (1911–1963) as an acronym of the first letters in the names Solomon ( def. ), Hercules ( def. ), Atlas ( def. ), Zeus ( def. ), Achilles ( def. ), and Mercury ( def. )

Example Sentences

Gunn’s favorite band Foxy Shazam provides the second season’s theme song, “Oh Lord,” a joyful cacophony of balls-to-the-wall distorted guitar, piano, trumpet blasts and Eric Nally’s energetic tenor vocals.

From Salon • Dec. 14, 2025

And it is also introducing a competitor to the music-identifying app Shazam, which is owned by Apple.

From BBC • Oct. 3, 2024

Open Shazam, the song identification app owned by Apple, and let it listen to “Preston.”

From New York Times • Jan. 13, 2024

This legislation would let merchants route transactions over other highly secure networks like NYCE, Star or Shazam for processing, forcing networks to compete over fees, security and service for the first time.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 10, 2023

And because most of the songs are not by well-known artists, many viewers are tapping on their Shazam app to find out where the music all comes from.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2023