From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
boom
n 1: a deep prolonged loud noise [syn: boom, roar,
roaring, thunder]
2: a state of economic prosperity
3: a sudden happening that brings good fortune (as a sudden
opportunity to make money); "the demand for testing has
created a boom for those unregulated laboratories where boxes
of specimen jars are processed like an assembly line" [syn:
boom, bonanza, gold rush, gravy, godsend, {manna
from heaven}, windfall, bunce]
4: a pole carrying an overhead microphone projected over a film
or tv set [syn: boom, microphone boom]
5: any of various more-or-less horizontal spars or poles used to
extend the foot of a sail or for handling cargo or in mooring
v 1: make a resonant sound, like artillery; "His deep voice
boomed through the hall" [syn: boom, din]
2: hit hard; "He smashed a 3-run homer" [syn: smash, nail,
boom, blast]
3: be the case that thunder is being heard; "Whenever it
thunders, my dog crawls under the bed" [syn: thunder,
boom]
4: make a deep hollow sound; "Her voice booms out the words of
the song" [syn: boom, boom out]
5: grow vigorously; "The deer population in this town is
thriving"; "business is booming" [syn: boom, thrive,
flourish, expand]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Boom \Boom\, n.
1. A hollow roar, as of waves or cannon; also, the hollow cry
of the bittern; a booming.
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2. A strong and extensive advance, with more or less noisy
excitement; -- applied colloquially or humorously to
market prices, the demand for stocks or commodities and to
political chances of aspirants to office; as, a boom in
the stock market; a boom in coffee. [Colloq. U. S.]
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Boom \Boom\, v. t.
To cause to advance rapidly in price; as, to boom railroad or
mining shares; to create a "boom" for; as to boom Mr. C. for
senator. [Colloq. U. S.]
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Boom \Boom\ (b[=oo]m), v. t. (Naut.)
To extend, or push, with a boom or pole; as, to boom out a
sail; to boom off a boat.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Boom \Boom\ (b[=oo]m), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Boomed, p. pr. &
vb. n. Booming.] [Of imitative origin; cf. OE. bommen to
hum, D. bommen to drum, sound as an empty barrel, also W.
bwmp a hollow sound; aderyn y bwmp, the bird of the hollow
sound, i. e., the bittern. Cf. Bum, Bump, v. i., Bomb,
v. i.]
1. To cry with a hollow note; to make a hollow sound, as the
bittern, and some insects.
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At eve the beetle boometh
Athwart the thicket lone. --Tennyson.
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2. To make a hollow sound, as of waves or cannon.
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Alarm guns booming through the night air. --W.
Irving.
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3. To rush with violence and noise, as a ship under a press
of sail, before a free wind.
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She comes booming down before it. --Totten.
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4. To have a rapid growth in market value or in popular
favor; to go on rushingly.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Boom \Boom\ (b[=oo]m), n. [D. boom tree, pole, beam, bar. See
Beam.]
1. (Naut.) A long pole or spar, run out for the purpose of
extending the bottom of a particular sail; as, the jib
boom, the studding-sail boom, etc.
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2. (Mech.) A long spar or beam, projecting from the mast of a
derrick, from the outer end of which the body to be lifted
is suspended.
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3. A pole with a conspicuous top, set up to mark the channel
in a river or harbor. [Obs.]
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4. (Mil. & Naval) A strong chain cable, or line of spars
bound together, extended across a river or the mouth of a
harbor, to obstruct navigation or passage.
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5. (Lumbering) A line of connected floating timbers stretched
across a river, or inclosing an area of water, to keep saw
logs, etc., from floating away.
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Boom iron, one of the iron rings on the yards through which
the studding-sail booms traverse.
The booms, that space on the upper deck of a ship between
the foremast and mainmast, where the boats, spare spars,
etc., are stowed. --Totten.
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