compression wave

or compressional wave

noun

1. a shock wave that compresses the medium through which it is transmitted.

Word History and Origins

Origin of compression wave¹

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

My throat clamped up, a compression wave that traveled down my chest and into my stomach.

From Literature

He even had some prescient hunches about the mechanism of blast’s effects: the compression wave, the concussion and the toxic gases.

From New York Times

It’s referred to as a compression wave.

From New York Times

The rocket, traveling faster than sound, set up a compression wave which bounced from the point of strike and hit the ear a split second before the terrific crump as the explosive let go�just time enough to flex a forearm across the face against the inevitable gale of glass and rubble fragments.

From Time Magazine Archive

He knew the compression wave caused by his movement would warn all living creatures.

From Project Gutenberg