whiz
/wɪz/ verb, noun
Forms whizzes whizzing whizzed whizz wiz wizz
- verb To make a whirring or hissing sound, similar to that of an object speeding through the air.
- verb To rush or move swiftly with such a sound.
- verb To throw or spin rapidly. “I whizzed the ball past the catcher.”
- verb (vulgar, slang) To urinate. “We whizzed in the bushes.”
- noun A whirring or hissing sound (as above).
- noun (informal) Someone who is remarkably skilled at something. “He's a whiz with the computers.”
- noun (vulgar, slang, especially with the verb "take") An act of urination. “I have to take a whiz.”
- noun (UK, slang, uncountable) Amphetamine.
- noun (UK, slang, with "the") Pickpocketing.
Synonyms
break the seal hit the head micturate pass water pee piddle piss slash take a leak take a piss take a whiz tinkle urinate void wee wee wee widdle adept ace artist champion sensation maven mavin virtuoso genius hotshot star superstar whizz
Etymology
In some noun senses perhaps derived from wizard. In the sense “remarkably skilled person”, it may also simply a misspelling of its shortened form wiz, or it may be a shortening of whiz kid, which may have a different origin, perhaps whiz(z) in the sense of “something very remarkable”, attested from 1908, or the interjection (as in whizz-bang or gee whiz).
In fact, whiz(z) in the sense of “something very remarkable” may be derived from whizz-bang in the sense of “conspicuously talented”, and in military slang whizz-bang (or whizbang) can mean “an exceptionally skilful person” (attested in 1916 and later), which whiz in the same sense seems to be a shortening of (whence presumably also whiz kid).
See with.
Webster’s 1913
- verb 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. [Written also whizz.]
- noun A hissing and humming sound.
Etymology [Of imitative origin. Whistle, and Hiss.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “whiz”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details