boomshakalaka
/ˈbuːmˌʃɑkəˌlɑkə/
boomshakalaka interjection: an exclamation expressing dominance, excitement, joy, or triumph.
Interjection
- An exclamation expressing dominance, excitement, joy, or triumph.
Noun
boomshakalaka (plural boomshakalakas)
- The sound of a slam dunk and the board or chain rattling that follows.
Forms of boomshakalaka
| Interjection | |
|---|---|
| alternative form | boom shakalaka |
| Noun | |
| plural | boomshakalakas |
Origin of boomshakalaka
Uncertain, but likely from the filler syllables boom-laka-laka-laka in the lyrics to the song “I Want to Take You Higher” (1969) by Sly and the Family Stone, which appeared as the corruption boom-shaka-laka-laka in subsequent covers; the modern shortened form boomshakalaka, as an apparent reference to “I Want to Take You Higher”, appeared in the military comedy film Stripes (1981). From there, a scriptwriter for the video game NBA Jam (1993) adopted it as onomatopoeic for a slam dunk in lines voiced by Tim Kitzrow, popularizing its use.
Questions about boomshakalaka
- What does boomshakalaka mean?
- Boomshakalaka means an exclamation expressing dominance, excitement, joy, or triumph.
- What part of speech is boomshakalaka?
- Boomshakalaka can be an interjection or a noun.
- How do you pronounce boomshakalaka?
- Boomshakalaka is pronounced /ˈbuːmˌʃɑkəˌlɑkə/ (US).
Words near boomshakalaka in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: boomshakalaka (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q7976 (mis)-Walter Franky-boomshakalaka.wav.
Cite this entry: “boomshakalaka.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/boomshakalaka. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.