whiz

• POS: Noun, Verb (usu participle), Verb (intransitive)

CIDE DICTIONARY

whiz, v. i. [Of imitative origin. . Cf. Whistle, and Hiss.].

 To make a humming or hissing sound, like an arrow or ball flying through the air; to fly or move swiftly with a sharp hissing or whistling sound.  [1913 Webster]
"It flew, and whizzing, cut the liquid way."  [1913 Webster]

whiz, n. 

 A hissing and humming sound.  [1913 Webster]
"Like the whiz of my crossbow."  [1913 Webster]

OXFORD DICTIONARY

whiz, n. & v. (also whizz) colloq.
--n.
1 the sound made by the friction of a body moving through the air at great speed.
2 (also wiz) colloq. a person who is remarkable or skilful in some respect (is a whiz at chess).
--v.intr. (whizzed, whizzing) move with or make a whiz.

Idiom

whiz-bang colloq.
1 a high-velocity shell from a small-calibre gun, whose passage is heard before the gun's report.
2 a jumping kind of firework. whiz-kid colloq. a brilliant or highly successful young person.

Etymology

imit.: in sense 2 infl. by WIZARD

THESAURUS

whiz

ace, adept, assibilate, assibilation, ball the jack, barrel, beaut, birr, bombilate, bombinate, boom, bowl along, breeze, breeze along, brush, bullet, bum, burr, buzz, clip, corker, crackerjack, cut along, dab, dabster, daisy, dandy, darb, dilly, dream, drone, dust, effervesce, effervescence, effervescing, first-rater, fizz, fizzle, fizzling, fleet, flit, fly, fly low, foot, frication, frictional rustling, genius, go fast, good hand, great, highball, hiss, hissing, honey, hum, humdinger, hush, hushing, killer-diller, knockout, lisp, lollapaloosa, lulu, magician, mahatma, make knots, man of genius, master, master hand, mastermind, nip, outstrip the wind, past master, peach, pip, pippin, pour it on, practiced hand, prodigy, professional, purr, rhonchus, rip, sage, scorch, shush, shushing, sibilance, sibilate, sibilation, siffle, sigmatism, siss, sissing, sizz, sizzle, sizzling, skilled hand, skim, sneeze, sneezing, sniff, sniffle, snore, snort, snuff, snuffle, speed, spit, splutter, sputter, squash, squelch, squish, star, sternutation, stertor, storm along, superstar, sweep, sweetheart, swish, tear, tear along, the nuts, thrum, thunder along, topnotcher, virtuoso, wheeze, whir, whirl, whish, whisk, whisper, whistle, whistling, white noise, whoosh, wizard, zing, zip, zoom

ROGET THESAURUS

whiz

Sibilation

VB hiss, buzz, whiz, rustle, fizz, fizzle, wheeze, whistle, snuffle, squash, sneeze, sizzle, swish.