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A sonic boom is an explosive sound created by a shock wave formed at the nose of an aircraft. In 1947 a plane piloted by Chuck Yeager burst the "sound barrier" and created the first sonic boom. In the decades afterward sonic booms became a familiar sound to Americans. (Because of steps that were eventually taken, sonic booms are rarely heard anymore.) Today sonic is often used by ambitious rock musicians to describe their experimental sounds.
Examples of sonic in a Sentence
Ryan Bradley MacLeod Andrews Emma Kehlbeck Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Blurring the lines between psychedelic rock, funk, soul and surf rock, the Texas trio’s mostly instrumental jams are best described as sonic comfort.
—Vanessa Franko, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
As such, this list features a variety of sonic profiles and influences that fall under the R&B umbrella, with multiple entries from artists like Beyoncé, The Internet, Jazmine Sullivan, Steve Lacy, Summer Walker, Masego, Lucky Daye, Brent Faiyaz, SZA, Jhene Aiko, and Frank Ocean, among others.
—Rivea Ruff, Essence, 9 Apr. 2024
Music gets into one’s head—literally—when all the technical aspects of a headphone’s design fall by the wayside, and when a holistic sonic landscape unfolds without regard to which kind of transducer produces which frequencies.
—Robert Ross, Robb Report, 9 Apr. 2024
Over 10 songs, the slimmer Only God harnesses the frenetic energy the group is known for into a lush sonic storyline of the city and of the intergenerational questions and, at times, resentment plaguing its residents.
—Rachel Desantis, Peoplemag, 5 Apr. 2024
Easing into the repertoire Though the current season and its repertoire was scheduled long before Ryan’s appointment, one of its upcoming musical selections, Brahms Symphony No. 1, is an example of sonic serendipity.
—Amy Carleton, Charlotte Observer, 4 Apr. 2024
What’s missing is the cohesion: While individual tracks stand well alone, sharp sonic contrasts drain the album of momentum.
—Shannon J. Effinger, SPIN, 29 Mar. 2024
These lyrical gestures, combined with the album’s many sonic juxtapositions, help draw out an American hypocrisy.
—Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 29 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sonic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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“Sonic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sonic. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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