Link Centre Dictionary

whiz

UK/wɪz/ US/ˈhwɪz/ fairly common informal slang uk us
verb (1) noun (2)

verb

1.

make a soft swishing sound

  • “the motor whirred”
  • “the car engine purred”
Synonyms

noun

1.
2.

a buzzing or hissing sound as of something traveling rapidly through the air

  • “he heard the whiz of bullets near his head”

Origin

Onomatopoeic. Compare huzz, hizz, hiss. In some noun senses perhaps derived from wizard. In the sense “remarkably skilled person”, it may also simply a misspelling of its shortened form wiz, or it may be a shortening of whiz kid, which may have a different origin, perhaps whiz(z) in the sense of “something very remarkable”, attested from 1908, or the interjection (as in whizz-bang or gee whiz). In fact, whiz(z) in the sense of “something very remarkable” may be derived from whizz-bang in the sense of “conspicuously talented”, and in military slang whizz-bang (or whizbang) can mean “an exceptionally skilful person” (attested in 1916 and later), which whiz in the same sense seems to be a shortening of (whence presumably also whiz kid).

Phrases

  • gee whiz
  • take a whiz
  • whiz kid
  • whizzing stick

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.