whiz
1 Americanverb (used without object)
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to make a humming, buzzing, or hissing sound, as an object passing swiftly through the air.
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to move or rush with such a sound.
The angry hornets whizzed by in a cloud.
verb (used with object)
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to cause to whiz.
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to treat with a whizzer.
noun
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Informal. a person who is quite good at a particular activity, in a certain field, etc..
She's a whiz at math.
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the sound of a whizzing object.
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a swift movement producing such a sound.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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whizsimple
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whizzessimple
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have whizzedperfect
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has whizzedperfect
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am whizzingprogressive
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are whizzingprogressive
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is whizzingprogressive
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have been whizzingperfect progressive
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has been whizzingperfect progressive
Past
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whizzedsimple
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had whizzedperfect
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was whizzingprogressive
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were whizzingprogressive
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had been whizzingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of whiz1
1540–50; imitative; cf. fizz
Origin of whiz2
By shortening
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Every MLB front office is populated by Ivy League whiz kids, data wonks and math geniuses, who are trying to find an edge with numbers.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
Plus: Uploading your blood work to AI, the whiz kids who dropped out of college, a drone’s unlikely inspiration and more.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
As four astronauts whiz toward a flyby of the Moon, looking out for them are mission control experts using cutting-edge technology and lessons learned from the Apollo program 50 years ago.
From Barron's • Apr. 4, 2026
The ad, titled “Good Will Dunkin’,” featured Affleck as the original brainy Boston math whiz, who happens to work at Dunkin’ and arranges a display of Munchkins in a Fibonacci sequence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
Under my feet, I can see flashes of pavement whiz by.
From "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett
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.
