First recorded in 1950–55
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Steven Whan, 58, from Bicknacre, near Danbury, thought he had heard a jet's sonic boom when the explosion occurred.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
Although the X-59 was designed to minimize the disruptive sonic boom typically associated with supersonic aircraft, these initial supersonic flights are not intended to demonstrate that capability.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 1, 2026
When Moore talks about these artists and their music, it’s like he’s describing a religious experience: “It’s like a sonic boom from the first groove,” Moore said of Peter Brötzmann’s “Machine Gun.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 16, 2025
A sonic boom occurs when an aircraft travels faster than the speed of sound, generating shockwaves that rapidly compress and decompress the air, producing an explosive noise.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2025
The telltale sonic boom indicated that the plane had pushed through the volatile transonic region into the state of smoother, all-supersonic flows.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
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.
