the sound barrier

noun

: the large increase in air resistance that occurs as an aircraft nears the speed of sound and that was once an obstacle to traveling faster than the speed of sound
a plane that is able to break the sound barrier

Examples of the sound barrier in a Sentence

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His feat was kept secret for about a year when the world thought the British had broken the sound barrier first. — ABC News, 16 June 2026 Earlier this year, the XB-1 demonstrator broke the sound barrier for the first time. — Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 22 June 2026 Breaking the sound barrier without breaking hardware moves us a step closer to fully exploiting this new mode of planetary exploration. — ArsTechnica, 8 May 2026 But from 42 knots upwards is where hydrofoiling craft hit their equivalent of the sound barrier — cavitation. — Andrew Rice, New York Times, 7 May 2026 See All Example Sentences for the sound barrier

Rhymes for the sound barrier

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the soul of discretion
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Cite this Entry

“The sound barrier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20sound%20barrier. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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