whack

Meanings

1. 1
   verb

   to hit someone or something hard, usually with a quick forceful blow

   The loose branch whacked the side of the truck as it passed.

2. 2
   noun

   a hard blow, or the sharp sound produced by one

   A loud whack of splintering boards came from downstairs.

Of uncertain origin, first recorded in Scots and probably imitative of the sound of a forceful blow. It may also have been influenced by older thwack, from a Germanic verb meaning to strike or press.

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