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.

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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

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verb

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

Etymology

Origin of whoosh

First recorded in 1840–50; imitative

Example Sentences

Just a soft, unfelt whoosh of wind, and then the blue light fades.

From Literature

The doors whoosh open behind me again, letting in a blast of warm air, and two paramedics rush past me on the right, pushing a man down the hall on a gurney.

From Literature

After that, Clare had spent many days searching the woods for his missing companion, calling his name, even venturing so close to the human road that he could feel the unsettling whoosh of cars.

From Literature

I focus on the sounds of my own body propelling me forward—my feet drumming against the ground, my arms swishing against the sides of my tank top, my breath whooshing in and out.

From Literature

A bus whooshes by, an unhoused man screams as he walks by with a shopping cart.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• circle
• climb
• cross
• drift
• float
• flutter
• glide
• operate
• pilot
• reach
• rush
• sail
• shoot
• speed
• swoop
• take off
• travel