Whiz vs Zing - What's the difference?
whiz | zing |
To make a whirring or hissing sound, similar to that of an object speeding through the air.
To rush or move swiftly with such a sound.
To throw or spin rapidly.
(vulgar, slang) To urinate.
A whirring or hissing sound (as above).
(informal) Someone who is remarkably skilled at something.
An act of urination; a wiz.
(UK, slang, uncountable) amphetamine.
A short high-pitched humming sound, eg that made by a bullet or vibrating string.
* {{quote-book
, date = 1998-03-15
, author = Edward E. Leslie
, title = Desperate Journeys, Abandoned Souls
, publisher = Mariner Books
, isbn = 9780395911501
, ol = 7468582M
, page = 387
, pageurl = http://books.google.com/books?id=X0_S5AtHuY0C&pg=PA387&dq=zing
, passage = I heard a zing close to my head and looked up again. Five or six men were lined up on the deck above me with rifles shooting at the shark.
}}
Zest or vitality.
* {{quote-news
, date = 2006-05-25
, author = Melinda Houston
, newspaper =
, title = European Bier Cafe - Bar Reviews
, url = http://www.theage.com.au/news/bar-reviews/european-bier-cafe/2006/05/25/1148519757307.html
, passage = To accompany a meal, the fresh Italian lager Poretti is perfect; Erdinger Weisbier, a wheat beer from Germany, is full of zing ;
}}
To move very quickly, especially while making a high-pitched hum.
* {{quote-book
, year = 2000
, author = Nick Nelson
, title = The Golden Vortex
, publisher = Conscious Publishing
, isbn = 9781929096015
, ol = 8949607W
, page = 89
, pageurl = http://books.google.com/books?id=xAOfLVoyCLIC&pg=PA89&dq=zinging
, passage = We are all a second or two older than an astronaut who has been zinging around the Earth at 18000 miles per hour, because of his or her greater speed and the lack of gravity.
}}
(onomatopoeia) A high pitched humming sound.
* {{quote-song
, year = 1934
, composer =
, title =
, passage = Something inside of me started a symphony / Zing ! Went the strings of my heart
}}
(US, slang) Used to acknowledge a witty comeback, a zinger .
* {{quote-book
, year = 2002
, author = Chellie Campbell
, title = The Wealthy Spirit
, publisher = Sourcebooks
, isbn = 9781570717772
, ol = 8698152M
, page = 162
, pageurl = http://google.com/books?id=mU-DgUcd-5AC&pg=PA162&dq=zing
, passage = Zing! The joke had rebounded back on the one who started it. "Ouch!" Mama Jane winced ruefully. We all dissolved in laughter at the good-natured repartee.
}}
----
As verbs the difference between whiz and zing
is that whiz is to make a whirring or hissing sound, similar to that of an object speeding through the air while zing is to move very quickly, especially while making a high-pitched hum.As nouns the difference between whiz and zing
is that whiz is a whirring or hissing sound (as above) while zing is a short high-pitched humming sound, eg that made by a bullet or vibrating string.As an interjection zing is
(onomatopoeia) a high pitched humming sound.whiz
English
Alternative forms
* whizzVerb
- We whizzed in the bushes.
Noun
(whizzes)- I have to take a whiz .