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.
Visitors will start inside a dark slide that gives way to an orange glow followed by a double sonic boom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 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
Lindsay said the explosion from a missile intercepted above the hotel they were staying in, The Palm near Jebel Ali Port, sounded like a sonic boom.
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2026
A sonic boom caused by a SpaceX cargo vessel rattled Los Angeles late Saturday evening.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 25, 2025
She heard a roar that she later realized was a sonic boom, and Arion tore over Puget Sound, seawater turning to steam in his wake as the skyline of Seattle receded behind them.
From "The Son of Neptune" 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.
