as in thud
a hard strike with a part of the body or an instrument
gave the TV a good wham with her fist, and suddenly the picture came back on
Synonyms & Similar Words
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as in to smack
Related Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of wham
SI.com, 21 June 2019
Tom Mullen, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno and company made their wham-bam-glam debut on ‘Roxy Music’ 50 years ago.
—Jill Krajewski, SPIN, 8 June 2022
Perhaps my overall disappointment stems from this pilot stiffness, but the more likely culprit is the standard brashness of American reality television, which is less cinema vérité and more wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am.
—Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2020
But the movie, for all its retrograde politics and wham-bam machismo, can also be slick, silly fun — a giddy exercise in freewheeling nihilism, played to the hilt.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2020
The movie comes at you with a quick, wham-bam style that feels like a nod to the source material, a DC Vertigo comic-book series by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Aug. 2019
Noun
Goalscorer Asamoah Gyan took the resulting penalty, only to wham it off the top of the bar.
—SI.com, 21 June 2019
Verb
Easy drinking 100% Merlot with 14% alcohol with flavors that include dark licorice, cinnamon and nutmeg and a wham of a finish.
—Tom Mullen, Forbes, 23 Feb. 2025
Bryan Ferry, Brian Eno and company made their wham-bam-glam debut on ‘Roxy Music’ 50 years ago.
—Jill Krajewski, SPIN, 8 June 2022
Perhaps my overall disappointment stems from this pilot stiffness, but the more likely culprit is the standard brashness of American reality television, which is less cinema vérité and more wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am.
—Robyn Bahr, The Hollywood Reporter, 4 Feb. 2020
But the movie, for all its retrograde politics and wham-bam machismo, can also be slick, silly fun — a giddy exercise in freewheeling nihilism, played to the hilt.
—Leah Greenblatt, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2020
The movie comes at you with a quick, wham-bam style that feels like a nod to the source material, a DC Vertigo comic-book series by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle.
—San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Aug. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for wham
Noun
-
The other shoe dropped with an unsettling thud recently when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt openly gay-bashed in defense of her controversial boss.—
Louis Balsamo,
Baltimore Sun,
25 June 2025
-
Her feet dangle, then land with a thud on the delicate rug hugging the side of her bed.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
HollywoodReporter,
6 June 2025
Verb
-
Standing all of 4-foot-5 and weighing 63 pounds, Indie-Reign routinely smacks the ball about 170 yards off the tee.—
Don Norcross,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
9 July 2025
-
In 1648, a group of English Puritans set sail from Bermuda to avoid religious persecution only to smack into Devil’s Backbone reef.—
Norma Meyer,
Oc Register,
9 July 2025
Noun
-
Pang’s departure is a blow to Apple’s AI ambitions and comes amid internal scrutiny of its AI strategy, which has so far failed to match the capabilities fielded by rival tech companies, leaving Apple dependent on third-party AI models from OpenAI and Anthropic.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
8 July 2025
-
In a quiet, devastating moment, Dream kills his son with a single blow.—
Aya Al-Hakim,
People.com,
7 July 2025
Verb
-
While hitting 350 homers is a feat in itself, Judge reached the mark more quickly than former slugger Mark McGwire.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
13 July 2025
-
The Padres took a 5-4 lead in the seventh inning when Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a one-out single, moved to third on a single by Luis Arraez and scored on a sacrifice fly by Machado.—
Kevin Acee,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
13 July 2025
Noun
-
Above her, the sweeping halo scoreboard glowed, flashing beneath the thump of blasting pop anthems.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
12 July 2025
-
On the footage, the sound is a muffled thump, and neither Rush nor Foss seemed alarmed.—
Jenny Porter Tilley,
IndyStar,
2 July 2025
Verb
-
Armed with chainsaws and bush cutters, the IPC armies sliced and whacked their way through the evildoers.—
Laura L. Davis,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
-
Public libraries are asking hundreds of thousands of patrons to tell state lawmakers to back off a plan to whack state money for local libraries.—
Laura A. Bischoff,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Noun
-
Those embarrassing losses with ownership sitting in the expensive seats were a big-time slap in the face to the decision makers.—
James Mirtle,
New York Times,
18 June 2025
-
The number of girl slaps exchanged between the governor and Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez over the state budget impasse.—
Pat Beall,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 June 2025
Verb
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When the vehicle slowed for a group of kids, Rivera boxed him in.—
Meredith Colias-Pete,
Chicago Tribune,
8 July 2025
-
Just days after boxing Jake Paul in the main event of a match held at Anaheim’s Honda Center, former world champion Julio César Chávez Jr. has been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.—
Alex Weprin,
HollywoodReporter,
3 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Wham.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/wham. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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