whiz1
or whizz
[hwiz, wiz]
- to make a humming, buzzing, or hissing sound, as an object passing swiftly through the air.
- to move or rush with such a sound: The angry hornets whizzed by in a cloud.
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- to cause to whiz.
- to treat with a whizzer.
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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.
- the sound of a whizzing object.
- a swift movement producing such a sound.
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Origin of whiz1
1540–50; imitative; cf. fizz
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for whizzed
Contemporary Examples
“As I crossed the ABC newsroom, Diane Sawyer whizzed by carrying a thick stack of papers,” she writes.
Stuck on a stalled train last week, I sank into Security and the hours whizzed painlessly by.
I whizzed into the cup, washed my hands, waited for my green light, and wished the officer a good afternoon.
Historical Examples
Then calling for a taxi-cab, he whizzed away to the Grand Central station.
The Trimming of GoosieJames Hopper
Lucky he was quick on the duck, for the glass just whizzed over the top of his head.
Shorty McCabeSewell Ford
I began to fire with my comrades, reckless of 113the bullets that whizzed about me.
The CryptogramWilliam Murray Graydon
Suddenly they discharged several arrows upon Tonti and Membré, which whizzed by, fortunately, without hitting them.
I thought he recognised us as he whizzed along, and I guess he did, too.
The Silent BulletArthur B. Reeve
Word Origin and History for whizzed
whiz
n.
"clever person," 1914, probably a special use of whiz "something remarkable" (1908), an extended sense of whizz; or perhaps a shortened form of wizard. Noun phrase whiz kid is from 1930s, a take-off on a radio show's quiz kid.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper