sound barrier
6
5.7
- noun
- /saʊnd ˈbæriər/
- Specialized
:
barrera del sonido
- Then they built a small plane, the X-1, to try and break the sound barrier.
- break the sound barrier
- jets broke the sound barrier
- first broke the sound barrier
We had just broken the sound barrier and we hadn't made it into space yet.
- We had just broken the sound barrier and we hadn't made it into space yet.
- They break the speed, the sound barrier, so they break ribs.
- It's like a Sonic boom, like on the front, like vapor cone broken the sound barrier of my finger.
Examples
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If all goes according to plan, Baumgartner will also become the first skydiver ever to break the sound barrier.
Blog text (4) -
Another unknown: the effects on the body of breaking the sound barrier.
Blog text (10) -
We finally broke the sound barrier.
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The sound barrier's been broken.
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The second record he broke is being the first person ever to break the sound barrier without an aircraft.
Blog text (14) -
The man who breaks the sound barrier will be on top.
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When he jumps, he expects to break the sound barrier in about 30 seconds.
Blog text (27) -
I heard silence at first, and then the crashing sound of air as he broke the sound barrier.
Blog text (2) -
Baumgartner accelerated to 833.9 mph, reaching Mach 1.24 and breaking the sound barrier, also a new record.
Blog text (1) -
In 1947, the bullet-shaped Bell X-1 piloted by Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier.
Synonyms
1
8.1
A sudden increase in air resistance when a plane nears the speed of sound
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'sound' (sound) and 'barrier' (an obstacle) give a clear metaphor of an obstacle related to sound, so a learner can guess it refers to a difficulty associated with sound. However, the precise technical meaning — the aerodynamic effects encountered near the speed of sound — requires specific physics knowledge (or recognition of 'sound' as shorthand for 'the speed of sound'), so it is not fully predictable for an average B1 learner.
Etymology
The term sound barrier comes from the picture of an invisible wall of sound in front of a very fast plane. When a plane hits that barrier it can shake and the engine must work much harder, so 'sound barrier' now means the speed where these strong effects happen.