sonic boom
nounDefinition of sonic boom
: a sound resembling an explosion produced when a shock wave formed at the nose of an aircraft traveling at supersonic speed reaches the ground
— called also sonic bang
Examples of sonic boom in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
They are used to sonic booms from speeding aircraft rattling their windows. — NBC News, "'Here we go again': Communities near Area 51 brace for influx of UFO tourists," 27 July 2019 After two sonic booms, three huge parachutes slowed the descent to the Pacific Ocean. — Washington Post, "After first steps on moon, crew welcomed home with aloha," 28 July 2019 Jet2 said the jets caused a sonic boom that was heard for miles. — Time Staff, Time, "A Passenger Was Fined $105,000 and Banned for Life for 'Extremely Disruptive Behavior' on an Airplane," 19 July 2019 Several residents in Derby, a city 128 miles north of London, reported hearing a loud bang around 10 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET), which has since been linked to the sonic boom of the fighter jets. — Simon Cullen, Zahid Mahmood And Tara John, CNN, "Air India flight in emergency landing at London Stansted after bomb threat," 27 June 2019 It’s time again for glittering lights and sonic booms to fill the sky in the name of democracy. — Trevor Fraser, orlandosentinel.com, "Fourth of July: Where to be dazzled in the Orlando area," 26 June 2019 Nearby beaches and other prime viewing spots were packed with tourists and locals eager to catch not just the launch but the rare and dramatic return of twin boosters, accompanied by sonic booms. — Marcia Dunn, The Seattle Times, "SpaceX launches mega rocket, lands all 3 boosters," 14 Apr. 2019 The 1973 ban on overland supersonic flights in the U.S., due to concerns about the impact of sonic booms, severely limited the market for the Concorde. — Dominic Gates, The Seattle Times, "Boeing invests in advanced supersonic business jet," 5 Feb. 2019 Today sonic booms are banned over the continental U.S., meaning the company could fly supersonic only over oceans. — Scott Mccartney, WSJ, "The Future of Flying: Flights Could Be Getting Much Shorter," 19 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sonic boom.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more