wham

Noun

wham (plural whams)

1. A forceful blow.
   • Roger was given a violent wham by his boxing opponent.
   • Might be a good idea to have a wham at it, anyway. Stop it getting away. Knock it out so that we can have a proper look at it.1957, John Wyndham [pseudonym; John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris], “Operation Midwich”, in The Midwich Cuckoos, New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published June 1972, →OCLC, page 36
2. The sound of such a blow; a thud.
   • We heard a wham as the hammer struck the wall.
3. (figuratively) An attempt.
4. (figuratively) A great success.

Interjection

1. Used to indicate the sound of a forceful blow, an explosion, etc.
   • Wham! The truck hit the wall.
   • "Come here, kid, I got something for you." Then wham and he lit on his hands and knees beside the track. Nick rubbed his eye. There was a big bump coming up.1925, Ernest Hemingway, “The Battler”, in In Our Time: Stories, New York, N.Y.: Boni & Liveright, →OCLC, page 65
2. Used to indicate something dramatic, sudden, and unanticipated has occurred.
   • Our relationship was going smoothly and then wham! Out of nowhere he told me he was leaving me for another woman.
   • Wham! Overnight he [Dwight D. Eisenhower] became a warmonger.1952 September 22, “Editorial: Since Stevenson [i.e., Adlai Stevenson II] Prefers ‘Compromise’, Foreign Policy is Squarely in the Campaign”, in Henry R[obinson] Luce, editor, Life, volume 33, number...

Verb

wham (third-person singular simple present whams, present participle whamming, simple past and past participle whammed)

1. (informal, transitive) To smash or strike (someone or something) with great force or impact; to slam, to whack.
   • My Wobblie worker buddies taught me to wham anybody who bothered me hard and fast in the crotch with my knee or my elbow.1994 October, Harry Hay, “Focussing On NAMBLA Obscures the Issues: Our Beloved Gay/Lesbian Movement at a Crossroads”, in Marla Erlien, Stephanie Poggi, editors, Gay Community News, volume 20, number...
   • I picked one of the logs up and just whammed him over the shoulder as hard as I could. Then I said to him, "I want to tell you something. If you want to come up here to school and behave, I want to see you back; otherwise, I don't want you on this school ground."2011, William Lynwood Montell, “Disciplining Students”, in Tales from Kentucky One-room School Teachers, Lexington, Ky.: University Press of Kentucky, →ISBN, page 136
2. (informal, transitive) To propel (something) with great force by kicking, striking, throwing, etc.
   • Though you may never have heard of Wham-O before, you doubtless are already acquainted with Super Ball, their latest sensation. It's about the size of a handball, and has such extraordinary bounce that it makes every other ball seem tired. […] Kids from seven to 70 can be seen dribbling it or...1966 January, Wesley S. Griswold, “Can You Invent a Million-dollar Fad?”, in Ernest V. Heyn, editor, The Popular Science Monthly, volume 188, number 1, New York, N.Y.: Popular Science Publishing...
3. (informal, intransitive) To smash or strike with great force or impact.
   • She takes her foot off the skateboard. It keeps going without her and whams into the garage door.2009, Ted Staunton, “No-hands”, in Daredevil Morgan (First Novels), Halifax, N.S.: Formac Publishing Company, →ISBN, page 8
4. (informal, intransitive) To move quickly or loudly.