boom

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• intransitive verb To make a deep, resonant sound.
• intransitive verb To grow, develop, or progress rapidly; flourish.
• intransitive verb To utter or give forth with a deep, resonant sound.
• intransitive verb To cause to grow or flourish; boost.
• noun A deep resonant sound, as of an explosion.
• noun A time of economic prosperity.
• noun A sudden increase, as in popularity.
• noun Nautical A long spar extending from a mast to hold or extend the foot of a sail.
• noun A long pole extending upward at an angle from the mast of a derrick to support or guide objects being lifted or suspended.
• noun A barrier composed of a chain of floating logs enclosing other free-floating logs, typically used to catch floating debris or to obstruct passage.
• noun A floating barrier serving to contain an oil spill.
• noun A long movable arm used to maneuver and support a microphone.
• noun A spar that connects the tail surfaces and the main structure of an airplane.
• noun A long hollow tube attached to a tanker aircraft, through which fuel flows to another aircraft being refueled in flight.
• transitive verb To move or position using a crane.
• idiom (drop/lower) To act suddenly and forcefully to repress a practice or reprimand an offender; crack down.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To make a deep, hollow, continued sound.
• noun A deep, hollow, continued sound.
• To shove with a boom or spar.
• To drive or guide (logs) down a stream with a boom or pole.
• To pen or confine (logs) with a boom.
• noun A long pole or spar used to extend the foot of certain sails of a ship: as, the main-boom, jib-boom, studdingsail-boom.
• noun A strong barrier, as of beams, or an iron chain or cable fastened to spars, extended across a river or the mouth of a harbor, to prevent an enemy's ships from passing.
• noun A chain of floating logs fastened together at the ends and stretched across a river, etc., to stop floating timber.
• noun A pole set up as a mark to direct seamen how to keep the channel in shallow water.
• noun plural A space in a vessel's waist used for stowing boats and spare spars.
• noun A sudden increase of activity; a rush.
• noun A pole fastened lengthwise of a load of hay to bind the load.
• [The earliest instance of the word in this sense appears to be in the following passage:
• Mr. McCullagh, in a letter to one of the editors of this Dictionary, says: “I cannot explain how I came to use it, except that, while on the gunboats on the Mississippi river during the war, I used to hear the pilots say of the river, when rising rapidly and overflowing its banks, that it (the river) was ‘booming.’ The idea I wished to convey was that the Grant movement was rising—swelling, etc. The word seemed to be a good one to the ear, and I kept it up. It was generally adopted about a year afterward. I used it as a noun after a while, and spoke of ‘the Grant boom.’ ”]
• To bring into prominence or public notice by calculated means; push with vigor or spirit: as, to boom a commercial venture, or the candidacy of an aspirant for office.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb (Naut.) To extend, or push, with a boom or pole.
• noun A hollow roar, as of waves or cannon; also, the hollow cry of the bittern; a booming.
• noun Colloq. U. S. A strong and extensive advance, with more or less noisy excitement; -- applied colloquially or humorously to market prices, the demand for stocks or commodities and to political chances of aspirants to office.
• intransitive verb To cry with a hollow note; to make a hollow sound, as the bittern, and some insects.
• intransitive verb To make a hollow sound, as of waves or cannon.
• intransitive verb To rush with violence and noise, as a ship under a press of sail, before a free wind.
• intransitive verb To have a rapid growth in market value or in popular favor; to go on rushingly.
• transitive verb Colloq. U. S. To cause to advance rapidly in price.
• noun (Naut.) A long pole or spar, run out for the purpose of extending the bottom of a particular sail
• noun (Mech.) A long spar or beam, projecting from the mast of a derrick, from the outer end of which the body to be lifted is suspended.
• noun obsolete A pole with a conspicuous top, set up to mark the channel in a river or harbor.
• noun (Mil. & Naval) A strong chain cable, or line of spars bound together, extended across a river or the mouth of a harbor, to obstruct navigation or passage.
• noun (Lumbering) A line of connected floating timbers stretched across a river, or inclosing an area of water, to keep saw logs, etc., from floating away.
• noun one of the iron rings on the yards through which the studding-sail booms traverse.
• noun that space on the upper deck of a ship between the foremast and mainmast, where the boats, spare spars, etc., are stowed.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb To make a loud, resonant sound.
• verb transitive (figuratively, of speech) To exclaim with force, to shout, to thunder.