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definitions

whiplash

[hwip-lash, wip-]

noun

the lash of a whip.
an abrupt snapping motion or change of direction resembling the lash of a whip.
Also whiplash injury. a neck injury caused by a sudden jerking backward, forward, or both, of the head: Whiplash resulted when their car was struck from behind.
Also called whiplash curve. a connected series of reverse curves of more or less elliptical form, used as a major design motif in the Art Nouveau style.

verb (used with object)

to beat, hit, throw, etc., with or as if with a whiplash.
to affect adversely, as by a sudden change: new taxes whiplashing corporate earnings.

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Nearby words

  1. whip-round,
  2. whip-tailed,
  3. whip-tailed ray,
  4. whipbird,
  5. whipcord,
  6. whiplash injury,
  7. whipped,
  8. whipper-in,
  9. whippersnapper,
  10. whippet

Origin of whiplash

1565–75; 1950–55 for def 6; whip + lash1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for whiplash injury

whiplash injury

noun

med informal any injury to the neck resulting from a sudden thrusting forwards and snapping back of the unsupported headTechnical name: hyperextension-hyperflexion injury

whiplash

noun

a quick lash or stroke of a whip or like that of a whip
med See whiplash injury
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 whiplash injury

whiplash

n.

1570s, "the lash of a whip," from whip (n.) + lash (n.). The injury caused by sudden head motion so called by 1955, in reference to the notion of moving to and fro like a cracking whip. The verb in this sense is recorded by 1971.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for whiplash injury

whiplash injury

n.

A hyperextension-hyperflexion injury to the cervical spine caused by an abrupt jerking movement of the head, either in a backward or forward direction.

whiplash

[wĭp′lăsh′]

n.

Whiplash injury.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.