whiplash
Americannoun
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an abrupt snapping motion or change of direction resembling the lash of a whip.
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Also whiplash injury. a neck injury caused by a sudden jerking backward, forward, or both, of the head.
Whiplash resulted when their car was struck from behind.
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Also called whiplash curve. a connected series of reverse curves of more or less elliptical form, used as a major design motif in the Art Nouveau style.
verb (used with object)
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to beat, hit, throw, etc., with or as if with a whiplash.
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to affect adversely, as by a sudden change.
new taxes whiplashing corporate earnings.
noun
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a quick lash or stroke of a whip or like that of a whip
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med See whiplash injury
Etymology
Origin of whiplash
First recorded in 1565–75; 1950–55 whiplash for def. 6; whip + lash 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This creates a cycle of rapid swings between drought and flooding, which is what people mean by weather whiplash.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
Leveraged ETFs tied to chipmaker SK Hynix were pummeled Tuesday, amid a punishing selloff in semiconductor stocks this month as whiplash around the powerful artificial-intelligence trade continues.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
Even the most well-adjusted person isn’t immune to the discomfort of emotional whiplash.
From Salon ● May 30, 2026
“If you can’t agree to an off-stream investment in this world of weather whiplash, we’re as dumb as we want to be.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
Leo almost got whiplash trying to look in two places at once.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
