whiz
part of speech
noun (a whiz, whizzes; also whizz — UK); verb (whiz, whizzes, whizzed, whizzing); interjection (whiz!)
meaning for a pupil
1) (informal) A person who is very good at something: a maths whiz. tree →
2) (verb) To move very fast, often with a buzzing or whistling sound. tree →
3) (noun) A whistling or buzzing sound of something going fast. tree →
4) (UK, informal verb) «whizz up»: to mix food quickly in a blender. tree →
sense in the lessons
In everyday talk: «She's a whiz at maths.» In stories: bikes, arrows or rockets whiz past. In cooking: whizz the soup until smooth. Tells the reader something is fast or someone is clever.
examples
- My brother is a whiz at computer games. tree →
- Cars whizzed past on the motorway. tree →
- An arrow whizzed over his head. tree →
- She's a real maths whiz: she did the sums in her head. tree →
- Whizz the bananas and milk in the blender. tree →
- Whiz! The rocket shot into the sky. tree →
- The last bubble of his happiness had burst, with a whiz and a whir, and I rushed away from the gold-maker's house. tree →
note
Spelt «whiz» (US) or «whizz» (UK, Ireland, Australia). Past: whizzed. «Whizz-kid» = a clever young person. Informal; in formal writing use «expert». Do not confuse with «wiz»/«wizard».
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «whiz» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.