whiz-bang
or whiz·bang, whizz-bang
[ noun hwiz-bang, wiz-; adjective hwiz-bang, wiz- ]
/ noun ˈʰwɪzˌbæŋ, ˈwɪz-; adjective ˈʰwɪzˈbæŋ, ˈwɪz- /
noun
Military. a small, high-speed shell whose sound as it flies through the air arrives almost at the same instant as its explosion.
a firecracker with a similar effect.
Informal. whiz1(def 5).
adjective
Informal. first-rate; topnotch: a whiz-bang navigator.
QUIZZES
CHALLENGE YOURSELF WITH THESE WORDS FROM "LITTLE WOMEN"
"Little Women" may be a classic, but that doesn't mean we all know the meanings of the vocab words from the book. Can you define these words correctly and make Jo proud?
Question 1 of 10
earnest
Origin of whiz-bang
First recorded in 1910–15; orig. imitative
Words nearby whiz-bang
whitworth, whitworth screw thread, whity, whiz, whiz kid, whiz-bang, whiz-kid, whizz, whizz kid, whizz-bang, whizzer
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020