noun · verb · 13 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
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Received-Pronunciation:/ˈbuːməɹæŋ/
British, Southern, Standard:/ˈbʉwməɹaŋ/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
CMU ARPABET:B UW1 M ER0 AE2 NG
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
Any of various traditional throwing sticks used for hunting or combat by Australian aborigines, including the symmetrical, crescent-shaped, type (the returning boomerang).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: kylie
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
A flat curved airfoil that spins about an axis perpendicular to the direction of flight, originally used in various parts of the world as a hunting weapon or, in returnable types, for sports or training.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
1961, Charlie Drake, song, My Boomerang Won't Come Back, "Don't worry, boy, I know the trick, / And to you I'm gonna show it. / If you want your boomerang to come back, / Well first you've got to... throw it."
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
A breakdancing move in which the performer walks on their hands while keeping the legs raised off the ground.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A boomerang kick.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
a curved piece of wood; when properly thrown will return to thrower
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: throwing stick, throw stick
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: projectile, missile
Narrower terms: kylie, kiley
13
verb
Meaning 13
return to the initial position from where it came; like a boomerang
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: return
History
Etymology
Origin uncertain. Possibly from Thurawal. Long regarded as from the Sydney language, but early evidence unclear. The form boo-mer-it is glossed, c.1790, as 'scimeter' (i.e., scimitar) and the word bumarang, bumarañ is not explicitly recorded in the Sydney Language until 1903.
Across languages
Translations
99 source translations are retained for this English entry.
