boomerang

[ boo-muh-rang ]

/ ˈbu məˌræŋ /

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See synonyms for: boomerang / boomeranging on Thesaurus.com

noun

a bent or curved piece of tough wood used by Australian Aboriginal peoples as a throwing club, one form of which can be thrown so as to return to the thrower.

something, as a scheme or argument, that does injury to the originator.

Theater.

a mobile platform, adjustable to different levels, for painting scenery.
a batten, usually suspended vertically in the wings, for holding lighting units.

verb (used without object)

to come back or return, as a boomerang.

to cause harm to the originator; backfire.

adjective

coming back, returning, or backfiring: the boomerang consequences of his lies.

Informal. of or noting a person who returns to their parents’ home or to a previous job after a period of living or working elsewhere: a boomerang kid;boomerang employees.

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THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of boomerang

First recorded in 1820–30; from Dharuk būmariny

Words nearby boomerang

Boole's inequality, boom, boom-and-bust, boom box, boomer, boomerang, boomerang kid, Boomer State, boomie, boomkin, boomlet

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use boomerang in a sentence

In a second simulation, the team virtually rejoined the two pieces of boomerang-shaped bone.
The secret to T. rex‘s incredible biting force is at last revealed|Sid Perkins|June 1, 2021|Science News For Students
She points out the similarities between the Nike swoosh, the Newport cigarette logo, and the red boomerang around the Capital One sign, and how customers have wildly different associations with these brands, even if their branding looks the same.
Fast Food’s Retro Glow-Up|Jaya Saxena|March 25, 2021|Eater
It flew out of Louisiana, went to Australia, and then returned, like the world’s biggest, most menacing boomerang.
This year’s Super Bowl flyover will be unlike any other|Rob Verger|February 5, 2021|Popular-Science
Now that story has boomeranged on the eight-year-old brokerage.
How Robinhood became a target of the retail-trading hype it helped create|John Detrixhe|February 4, 2021|Quartz

Onboard, the Luna boasted a camera, automatic film processor, and a scanner, and when it boomeranged back past Earth, it transmitted 17 photographs of the moon’s hidden face.
Lunik: Inside the CIA’s audacious plot to steal a Soviet satellite|Bobbie Johnson|January 28, 2021|MIT Technology Review
If there's good news, it's that boomerang babies aren't entirely those who can't afford to live on their own.
A Record 21.6 Million Millennials Live With Mom and Dad|CNBC|August 2, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It would be one thing to attack her judicial philosophy, but attacks on her character as a Latina may well boomerang.
Closing the Case Against Sotomayor|Scott Horton|May 28, 2009|DAILY BEAST
Snakes were always killed with sticks, whilst birds were brought down with the wonderful boomerang.
The Adventures of Louis de Rougemont|Louis de Rougemont
The well-known instrument called the boomerang is Australian, and it is, perhaps, exclusively so.
The Ethnology of the British Colonies and Dependencies|Robert Gordon Latham
Figure 114 is the Nubian sword, which in form exactly resembles the boomerang.
The Evolution of Culture|Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers
This much, all curved weapons of the boomerang form possess as a common property.
The Evolution of Culture|Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers
The New Zealander throws his pattoo-pattoo, and the Australian throws the dowak and the waddy, as well as his boomerang.
The Evolution of Culture|Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers

British Dictionary definitions for boomerang

boomerang

/ (ˈbuːməˌræŋ) /

noun

a curved flat wooden missile of native Australians, which can be made to return to the thrower

an action or statement that recoils on its originator

verb

(intr) to recoil or return unexpectedly, causing harm to its originator; backfire

Word Origin for boomerang

C19: from a native Australian language

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

boomerang

Origin of boomerang

Words nearby boomerang

Words related to boomerang

How to use boomerang in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for boomerang

Word Origin for boomerang