v. [Echoic.]
1. intr. To make a continuons low-pitched humming or buzzing sound.
1892. ‘Q,’ I saw three Ships, i. Amid … the scraping and zooming of the instruments, string and reed. Ibid. (1904), Shining Ferry, xiv. A couple of humble-bees zoomed against the window pane.
2. Aircraft slang. (See first quot.) Hence Zoom sb., an act of ‘zooming.’
1917. Daily Mail, 19 July, 4/5. ‘Zoom’ … describes the action of an aeroplane which, while flying level, is hauled up abruptly and made to climb for a few moments at a dangerously sharp angle. ‘Zooming’ is … frequently the only means of avoiding an obstacle when flying low.
1918. ‘B. Cable,’ Air Men o’ War, i. 11. The ‘Silver Wings’ righted, zoomed sharply up, whirled round.
