wham

American  

[hwam, wam] / ʰwæm, wæm /

noun

1. a loud sound produced by an explosion or sharp impact.

   the wham of a pile driver.

2. a forcible impact.

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interjection

1. (used as an exclamation suggestive of a loud slam, blow, or the like.)

verb (used with or without object)

whammed, whamming

1. to hit or make a forcible impact, especially one producing a loud sound.

   The boat whammed into the dock.

   He whammed the door shut.

adverb

1. Also abruptly; with startling suddenness.

   The car ran wham up against the building.

wham British  

/ wæm /

noun

1. a forceful blow or impact or the sound produced by such a blow or impact

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interjection

1. an exclamation imitative of this sound

verb

1. to strike or cause to strike with great force

Etymology

Origin of wham

First recorded in 1730–40; imitative

Example Sentences

One doesn’t expect to have one’s stomach churned by such a documentary, but then — wham!

From New York Times • Feb. 14, 2023

“And I think that’s what happens; you quit thinking about it. It’s ‘Hey, we got to figure a way to get on base,’ and all of a sudden, wham, there’s a hit.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 9, 2022

At first thought, a homemade sprinkle birthday cake seems like an easy task: Just fold a bunch of sprinkles into a vanilla cake and wham bam, you're done.

From Salon • Jan. 26, 2022

“It just comes in, and, wham, it hits the ground,” Vago says.

From Scientific American • Feb. 6, 2020

He just stood there, and Winn-Dixie came barreling right toward him like he was a bowling ball and the preacher was the only pin left standing, and wham, they both fell to the ground.

From "Because of Winn-Dixie" by Kate DiCamillo