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Meaning & use

wooshing sound

noun·Everydayinformal

Last updated

UK/ˈwʊʃɪŋ saʊnd/
US/ˈwʊʃɪŋ saʊnd/

Meaning

  1. nouncountableinformal

    A soft, rushing noise, like air or water moving quickly.

    Grammar: Countable: you can say 'a wooshing sound' or 'wooshing sounds'.

    Patterns

    • a wooshing sound
    • the wooshing sound of something

    I heard a wooshing sound as the wind blew through the trees.

    The wooshing sound of the river helped me fall asleep.

    There was a sudden wooshing sound when the door opened.

Word forms

pluralwooshing sounds

Common combinations

a wooshing sound of wind
The wooshing sound of wind kept me awake.
make a wooshing sound
The machine makes a wooshing sound when it starts.
hear a wooshing sound
I heard a wooshing sound coming from the pipes.

Synonyms and how they differ

whoosh
A 'whoosh' is the same kind of sound, but it is often a sudden, short burst; 'wooshing sound' suggests a continuous or repeated noise.
swish
A 'swish' is a soft, hissing sound, often of something moving through air or water; it is lighter and less deep than a wooshing sound.

Word family

whoosh verb
To move quickly with a rushing sound.
whoosh noun
A sudden rushing sound.

Commonly confused: wooshing sound or whooshing?

wooshing sound vs whooshing

'Whooshing' is the standard spelling; 'wooshing' is a variant often used informally. Both refer to the same sound.

Practice

As the rocket launched, we heard a loud ___.

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