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Synonyms

whoosh

American  
[hwoosh, hwoosh, woosh, woosh] / ʰwuʃ, ʰwʊʃ, wuʃ, wʊʃ /
Also woosh

noun

  1. a loud, rushing noise, as of air or water.

    a great whoosh as the door opened.

verb (used without object)

  1. to move swiftly with a gushing or hissing noise.

    gusts of wind whooshing through the trees.

verb (used with object)

  1. to move (an object, a person, etc.) with a whooshing motion or sound.

    The storm whooshed the waves over the road.
whoosh British  
/ wʊʃ /

noun

  1. a hissing or rushing sound

  2. a rush of emotion

    a whoosh of happiness
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

  1. (intr) to make or move with a hissing or rushing sound

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of whoosh

First recorded in 1840–50; imitative

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.

No iPhone glows disturbed the darkness, just snores and the thud of wheels, the occasional whoosh of a passing train tilting us to one side.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 29, 2025

The morning simmered into the afternoon, and the news of the day continued to whoosh by.

From Slate • Mar. 8, 2025

Their breathing, sharp and drawn out with the occasional whoosh, mirrored the rise and fall of their limbs.

From New York Times • Apr. 4, 2024

Rumble, wheeze, groan, roar, whoosh, clank, thud, creak and repeat — this, for me, is the onset of bus reverie.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 25, 2024

This street is much busier than our old one, so I hear not only the whoosh of cars driving past, but every once in a while, motorcycle drivers revving their engines.

From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks

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.