boom1

[boom] /bum/
verb (used without object)
1.
to make a deep, prolonged, resonant sound.
2.
to move with a resounding rush or great impetus.
3.
to progress, grow, or flourish vigorously, as a business or a city:
Her business is booming since she enlarged the store.
verb (used with object)
4.
to give forth with a booming sound (often followed by out):
The clock boomed out nine.
5.
to boost; campaign for vigorously:
His followers are booming George for mayor.
noun
6.
a deep, prolonged, resonant sound.
7.
the resonant cry of a bird or animal.
8.
a buzzing, humming, or droning, as of a bee or beetle.
9.
a rapid increase in price, development, numbers, etc.:
a boom in housing construction.
10.
a period of rapid economic growth, prosperity, high wages and prices, and relatively full employment.
11.
a rise in popularity, as of a political candidate.
adjective
12.
caused by or characteristic of a boom:
boom prices.
Origin
1400-50; 1910-15 for def 10; late Middle English bombon, bummyn to buzz; cognate with Dutch bommen, German bummen, orig. imitative
Related forms
boomingly, adverb
Synonyms
3. prosper, thrive, develop.

boom2

[boom] /bum/
noun
1.
Nautical. any of various more or less horizontal spars or poles for extending the feet of sails, especially fore-and-aft sails, for handling cargo, suspending mooring lines alongside a vessel, pushing a vessel away from wharves, etc.
2.
Aeronautics.
  1. an outrigger used on certain aircraft for connecting the tail surfaces to the fuselage.
  2. a maneuverable and retractable pipe on a tanker aircraft for refueling another aircraft in flight.
  3. chord1 (def 4).
3.
a chain, cable, series of connected floating timbers, or the like, serving to obstruct navigation, confine floating timber, etc.
4.
the area thus shut off.
5.
Machinery. a spar or beam projecting from the mast of a derrick for supporting or guiding the weights to be lifted.
6.
(on a motion-picture or television stage) a spar or beam on a mobile crane for holding or manipulating a microphone or camera.
verb (used with object)
7.
to extend or position, as a sail (usually followed by out or off).
8.
to manipulate (an object) by or as by means of a crane or derrick.
verb (used without object)
9.
to sail at full speed.
Idioms
10.
lower the boom, to take decisive punitive action:
The government has lowered the boom on tax evaders.
Origin
1635-45; < Dutch: tree, pole, beam
Related forms
boomless, adjective
Examples from the web for boom
  • Sound trucks and boom microphones prevented the neighbors from getting near the apartment.
  • The publishing boom is two decades in progress, she says.
  • Teams of workers sing along with a straining boom box.
  • The intended launch load is out on the free end of the boom and reaches velocities adequate for space-going purposes.
  • He attributes the boom to the area's enormous prairie dog colony.
  • After all, the chemical engineer wanted to make fuel from plants for the hydrogen economy that was supposed to boom about now.
  • Scientists expect a boom in bald eagles, bear and other creatures that gorge on salmon.
  • Well before the dot-com swoon, blogging began to boom.
  • More importantly, undergraduates had better options for employment during the boom economy.
  • Scientists warn that a boom in crops such as corn for biofuel will only make matters worse.
British Dictionary definitions for boom

boom1

/buːm/
verb
1.
to make a deep prolonged resonant sound, as of thunder or artillery fire
2.
to prosper or cause to prosper vigorously and rapidly: business boomed
noun
3.
a deep prolonged resonant sound: the boom of the sea
4.
the cry of certain animals, esp the bittern
5.
a period of high economic growth characterized by rising wages, profits, and prices, full employment, and high levels of investment, trade, and other economic activity Compare depression (sense 5)
6.
any similar period of high activity
7.
the activity itself: a baby boom
Word Origin
C15: perhaps from Dutch bommen, of imitative origin

boom2

/buːm/
noun
1.
(nautical) a spar to which a sail is fastened to control its position relative to the wind
2.
a beam or spar pivoting at the foot of the mast of a derrick, controlling the distance from the mast at which a load is lifted or lowered
3.
a pole, usually extensible, carrying an overhead microphone and projected over a film or television set
4.
  1. a barrier across a waterway, usually consisting of a chain of connected floating logs, to confine free-floating logs, protect a harbour from attack, etc
  2. the area so barred off
Word Origin
C16: from Dutch boom tree, beam
Word Origin and History for boom
v.

mid-15c., earliest use was for bees and wasps, probably echoic of humming. The meaning "make a loud noise" is 15c. Cf. bomb. Meaning "to burst into prosperity" (of places, businesses, etc.) is 1871, American English. Related: Boomed; booming. Boom box first attested 1978.

n.

"long pole," 1540s, from Scottish boun, borrowed from Dutch boom "tree, pole, beam," from a Middle Dutch word analogous to Old English beam (see beam (n.)).

in the business sense, 1873, sometimes said to be from boom (n.1), from the nautical meaning "a long spar run out to extend the foot of a sail" -- a ship "booming" being one in full sail. But it could just as well be from boom (v.) on the notion of "suddenness."

Slang definitions & phrases for boom

boom

adjective

Wonderful; fashionable; outstanding; great (1990s+ Canadian students)

noun

Marijuana (1950s+ Narcotics)

verb
  1. To flourish; show vigor: Business is booming! (1860s+)
  2. To promote aggressively: There he goes booming that brand of soap (1890s+)
  3. (also boom along) To sail fast, under full canvas (1600s+ Nautical)
Related Terms

fall down and go boom,lower the boom


Idioms and Phrases with boom

boom

see: lower the boom