whiplash

UK: /ˈ^hwɪplæʃ/ US: /ˈhwɪplæʃ, ˈwɪp-/ ,(hwip′lash′, wip′-)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

whip•lash /ˈhwɪplæʃ, ˈwɪp-/   n. 

1. [countable] the lash of a whip.
2. Pathology [uncountable] a neck injury caused by a sudden jerking of the head.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

whip•lash  (hwip′lash′, wip′-), n. 

1. the lash of a whip.
2. an abrupt snapping motion or change of direction resembling the lash of a whip.
3. Also, whip′lash in′jury. a neck injury caused by a sudden jerking backward, forward, or both, of the head:
   Whiplash resulted when their car was struck from behind.
4. Also called whip′lash curve′. a connected series of reverse curves of more or less elliptical form, used as a major design motif in the Art Nouveau style.

v.t. 

5. to beat, hit, throw, etc., with or as if with a whiplash.
6. to affect adversely, as by a sudden change:
   new taxes whiplashing corporate earnings.

• 1565–75; 1950–55 for def. 6; whip + lash¹

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

whiplash / ˈwɪpˌlæʃ/ noun

1. a quick lash or stroke of a whip or like that of a whip
2. See whiplash injury