boomerang

[boo-muh-rang]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR boomerang ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a bent or curved piece of tough wood used by the Australian Aborigines 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.

Origin of boomerang

1820–30; < Dharuk būmariny

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for boomerang

return, reverse, rebound, ricochet, react, recoil, backlash

Examples from the Web for boomerang

Contemporary Examples of boomerang

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

Historical Examples of boomerang

But then it occurred to me that there was a way of using the weapon which threatened, as a boomerang.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
But the boomerang had come to my hand, and I'd caught it on the fly.
It Happened in Egypt
C. N. Williamson
"Boomerang" is the joint nom-de-plume of a Young Australian and his collaborator.
Australia Revenged
Boomerang
Pat Valdo hurries off to prepare for his boomerang throwing.
Pipefuls
Christopher Morley
Bewildered, she tried to retaliate with the boomerang of vituperation.
Gigolo
Edna Ferber

British Dictionary definitions for boomerang

boomerang

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

Word Origin and History for boomerang

1827, adapted from an extinct Aboriginal languages of New South Wales, Australia. Another variant, perhaps, was wo-mur-rang (1798).

1880, from boomerang (n.).