whiz-bang
Americannoun
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Military. a small, high-speed shell whose sound as it flies through the air arrives almost at the same instant as its explosion.
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a firecracker with a similar effect.
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Informal. whiz.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of whiz-bang
First recorded in 1910–15; imitative of the sound
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.
Luis Hernandez, a Geely salesman, said he has poached many longtime Ford and Chevrolet owners attracted to the affordable sticker prices and whiz-bang Chinese technology.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 29, 2026
This might not be the last test where Beijing leans on its strength in work-a-day industrial semiconductors while Silicon Valley is entranced by whiz-bang artificial-intelligence-driven breakthroughs, though.
From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2025
“The Phantom Menace” left no doubt of that, revealing Lucas to be less of some space opera guru than a guy more skilled at whiz-bang effects than character development or thoughtful exposition.
From Salon ● May 25, 2024
“The Terraformers” is thick with space travel, whiz-bang technology and radical re-envisioning of intra-species relationships, but Newitz’s concerns are earth-bound.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 28, 2023
I guess I hadn’t understood what it meant to be a whiz-bang.
From "Homesick" by Jean Fritz
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.
