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Definition of 'boom'

Word Frequency

boom

(buːm )
Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular present tense booms , present participle booming , past tense, past participle boomed
1. countable noun [usually singular]
If there is a boom in the economy, there is an increase in economic activity, for example in the amount of things that are being bought and sold.
An economic boom followed, especially in housing and construction.
The 1980s were indeed boom years.
...the cycle of boom and bust which has damaged us for 40 years.
2. countable noun [usually singular]
A boom in something is an increase in its amount, frequency, or success.
The boom in the sport's popularity has meant more calls for stricter safety regulations. [+ in]
Public transport has not been able to cope adequately with the travel boom.
3. verb
If the economy or a business is booming, the amount of things being bought or sold is increasing.
When the economy is booming, people buy new cars. [VERB]
Sales are booming. [VERB]
It has a booming tourist industry. [VERB-ing]
4. countable noun [usually singular]
On a boat, the boom is the long pole which is attached to the bottom of the sail and to the mast and which you move when you want to alter the direction in which you are sailing.
5. countable noun
A boom is a large floating barrier that is used for stopping oil that has spilled from spreading.
6. verb
When something such as someone's voice, a cannon, or a big drum booms, it makes a loud, deep sound that lasts for several seconds.
'Ladies,' boomed Helena, without a microphone, 'we all know why we're here tonight.' [VERB with quote]
Thunder boomed like battlefield cannons over Crooked Mountain. [VERB preposition/adverb]
[Also VERB]
Synonyms: bang, roll, crash, blast   More Synonyms of boom
Boom out means the same as boom.
Music boomed out from loudspeakers. [VERB PARTICLE preposition/adverb]
A megaphone boomed out, 'This is the police.' [VERB PARTICLE with quote]
He turned his sightless eyes their way and boomed out a greeting. [VERB PARTICLE noun]
[Also VERB PARTICLE]
Boom is also a noun.
The stillness of night was broken by the boom of a cannon.
Synonyms: bang, report, shot, crash   More Synonyms of boom
7.  See also baby boom
Phrasal verbs:
boom out
More Synonyms of boom
COBUILD Advanced English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Video: pronunciation of 'boom'

Word Frequency

boom in British 1

(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
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin of 'boom'
C15: perhaps from Dutch bommen, of imitative origin
Word Frequency

boom in British 2

(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. 
a. 
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
b. 
the area so barred off
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers
Word origin of 'boom'
C16: from Dutch boom tree, beam
Word Frequency

boom in American 1

(bum ; bo̅om)
verb intransitive
1. 
to make a deep, hollow, resonant sound
verb transitive
2. 
to speak or indicate with such a sound
usually with out
the clock boomed out the hour
noun
3. 
a booming sound, as of thunder, heavy guns, etc.
4. 
the resonant cry of certain animals, as the bullfrog
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Derived forms
boomer (ˈboomer)
  noun
Word origin of 'boom'
ME bummen, to hum; like Du bommen, Ger bummen, orig. echoic
Word Frequency

boom in American 2

(bum ; bo̅om)
noun
1. 
a spar extending from a mast to hold the bottom of a sail outstretched
2. 
a long beam extending as from an upright to lift or carry something and guide it as needed
the boom of a derrick, a microphone boom
3. 
a barrier of chains or poles to obstruct navigation
4.  US, Lumbering
a. 
a barrier across a river or around an area of water to prevent floating logs from dispersing
b. 
the area in which logs are thus confined
5.  Aeronautics
a retractable metal tube for transferring fuel from a tanker to another plane in flight
verb transitive
6. 
to stretch out (sails) as with a boom so as to take maximum advantage of a wind abaft the beam and hence make speed
verb intransitive US
7. 
to go rapidly along; move with speed or vigor
usually with along
Idioms:
lower the boom
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin of 'boom'
Du, a tree, beam, pole; same word ult. as beam; (sense 2) from use of ship's boom for this purpose
Word Frequency

boom in American 3

(bum ; bo̅om)
verb intransitive
1. 
to increase suddenly in size, importance, activity, etc.; undergo swift, vigorous growth; flourish
business boomed
verb transitive
2. 
to promote vigorously; popularize
they boomed him for mayor
noun
3. 
swift, vigorous growth or development
4. 
a period of business prosperity, industrial expansion, etc.
5. 
a sudden favorable turn in business or political prospects
adjective
6. 
of, characteristic of, or resulting from a boom in business, etc.
Webster’s New World College Dictionary, 4th Edition. Copyright © 2010 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Word origin of 'boom'
< ? boom2 vi.; later assoc. with boom1
Word Frequency

boom in Finance

(bum)
Word forms: (regular plural) booms
noun
(Finance: Economics)
A financial boom is an increase in economic activity with rapid growth and rising prices.
China's economic boom has produced a growing hunger for energy that only foreign supplies can satisfy.
Investment advisers are predicting a boom in oil stocks because an oil shortage is developing.
A financial boom is an increase in economic activity with rapid growth and rising prices.
boom-bust cycle, bust
Collins English Dictionary. Copyright © HarperCollins Publishers

Example sentences containing 'boom'

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content. Read more…
But there are not nearly enough in booming areas where new properties are most needed. The Sun (2016)The only sound is the boom of artillery and the only signs of life are bands of stray cats. Times, Sunday Times (2016)Employment has boomed and our growth is the best in the West. The Sun (2016)It used to be that advertisements sounded more booming than the programmes between them, causing viewers to reach for the remote. Times, Sunday Times (2016)At some stage the long housing boom has to come to an end, given the expected pressure on consumer spending next year. Times, Sunday Times (2016)The number, and size, of international takeovers and mergers is also booming. Times, Sunday Times (2016)The overall electronic book business is booming. Times, Sunday Times (2010)This means women are going to miss out on the boom areas of the future. Times, Sunday Times (2014)This does not mean that a boom period will automatically be followed by a crash. Times, Sunday Times (2014)The way we form and end relationships has also fuelled the boom. Times, Sunday Times (2009)Some economists forecast a downturn in the foreign investment behind the recent economic boom. Times, Sunday Times (2008)Many people were warning of the lopsided shape of growth throughout his boom years. Times, Sunday Times (2009)New consoles typically cause a frenzy of media coverage and a boom in business. Times, Sunday Times (2006)It is now a boom area which has not yet reached its peak. Times, Sunday Times (2006)The housing boom gave people the potential to withdraw equity in properties that suddenly looked like gold mines. Times, Sunday Times (2006)In summer, they make an astonishing booming sound that can be heard a mile away. Times, Sunday Times (2014)BRITAIN'S budget hotel chains are booming - and taking on hundreds of apprentices this year. The Sun (2013)The percentage deficit matched records set in the 1980s boom. Times, Sunday Times (2007)The cause of this boom has been the Chinese economic miracle. Times, Sunday Times (2012)The dismantled keel, boom and mast were also loaded on the vehicle. Times, Sunday Times (2006)It wasn't that long ago that the economy was booming. Times, Sunday Times (2012)His headphones are around his neck, and his sound boom probes the air like an antenna. Times, Sunday Times (2007)

Word Lists

Economics terms

Trends of 'boom'

In Common Usage. boom is one of the 10000 most commonly used words in the Collins dictionary

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Translations for 'boom'

British English: boom NOUN
If there is a boom in the economy, there is an increase in the number of things that people are buying.
An economic boom followed, especially in housing and construction.
  • American English: boom
  • Brazilian Portuguese: crescimento rápido
  • Chinese: > 好景气经济
  • European Spanish: boom
  • French: boom
  • German: Boom
  • Italian: boom
  • Japanese: 好景気
  • Korean: 호황
  • European Portuguese: crescimento rápido
  • Spanish: boom
British English: boom VERB
If the economy or a business is booming, the amount of things being bought or sold is increasing.
By 1988 the economy was booming.
  • American English: boom
  • Brazilian Portuguese: disparar
  • Chinese: > 繁荣经济
  • European Spanish: experimentar un boom
  • French: prospérer
  • German: boomen
  • Italian: andare a gonfie vele
  • Japanese: 景気上昇する
  • Korean: 호황을 맞다
  • European Portuguese: disparar
  • Spanish: experimentar un boom

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Nearby words of 'boom'

  • Boolean
  • Boolean algebra
  • bools
  • boom
  • boom and bust
  • boom baby
  • boom box

  • All ENGLISH words that begin with 'B'

Related Terms of 'boom'

  • baby boom
  • boom baby
  • boom box
  • boom-bust
  • boom out

  • View more related words

Source

Definition of boom from the Collins English Dictionary

Sentences and clauses

A clause is a group of words which contains a verb. The verb in a clause can be finite Use this pan for the pasta. He missed the turnoff. or non-finite. To cook pasta, always use a large pan....
Read more about 'Sentences and clauses'
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Scrabble score for 'boom': 8
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