I. ˈhwam, -aa(ə)m also ˈwa- noun
( -s )
Etymology: imitative
1. : the loud sound of a hard impact or explosion
startled by the harsh wham of a gun going off — R.M.Randall
2. : a solid blow
shook the table with an emphatic wham of his fist
II. verb
( whammed ; whammed ; whamming ; whams )
transitive verb
: to propel, strike, or beat forcibly or so as to produce a loud impact
wham two shots into the man — Charles Askins b. 1907
wham the culprit with her broom
wham a bass drum
intransitive verb
: to make a wham : hit or explode with a loud or heavy impact
shells from the battleships were whamming over our heads — Ernie Pyle
skids and whams against a stone wall
III. adverb
or wham·mo -ˌmō
Etymology: wham from wham (I) ; whammo from wham (I) + -o
: with violent abruptness
quietly fishing when wham — I got a strike
you're sitting around talking and wham something starts — Norman Mailer