whiz

or whizz

[hwiz, wiz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR whiz ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used without object), whizzed, whiz·zing.

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.

verb (used with object), whizzed, whiz·zing.

to cause to whiz.

to treat with a whizzer.

noun

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.

Origin of whiz

1540–50; imitative; cf. fizz

Related formswhiz·zing·ly, adverb

whiz

[hwiz, wiz]

noun

wizard(def 3).

Origin of whiz

by shortening

Related Words for whizzes

genius, prodigy, flit, whir, hurtle, whoosh, star, expert, pro, virtuoso, adept, professional, marvel, wonder, fly, whirl, swish, zip, bullet, hum

Examples from the Web for whizzes

Historical Examples of whizzes

She whizzes round the table like a cyclone and catches both his hands in hers.
Roads of Destiny
O. Henry
He mistimes it; it grazes the edge of his bat, and whizzes off far to the right of Scaife, but the Demon has it.
The Hill
Horace Annesley Vachell
I confess that I cannot ride in a motor-car that whizzes past other motor-cars without an absurd and irrational vanity.
Windfalls
(AKA Alpha of the Plough) Alfred George Gardiner
Women cab drivers are not very numerous, but every now and then one of them whizzes around a corner looking for a fare.
Germany in War Time
Mary Ethel McAuley

Word Origin and History for whizzes

whiz

"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.