shazam

S1H4A1Z10A1M3
/ʃəˈzæm/

interjection

Used to indicate that a magic trick or other illusion has been performed.

Meanings

interjection

alternative shazaam

  1. Used to indicate that a magic trick or other illusion has been performed.

    So I brought you down the trail on the sled, put you in my car and, shazam, here we are.

    2009, K. L. Denman, Me, Myself and Ike, Orca Book Publishers, →ISBN, page 185
    3 more examples

    The Tahitian kids had ridden out most of their lives, and they were busy riding in on their surf mats and belly boards. But when they met the out part, shazam!

    1966, Bruce Brown, director, The Endless Summer

    My parents lived in the Last Naïf Age: the last ‘good war’, atoms for peace, and parental philosophy that said children should do and say exactly what we do and say, and Shazam! You'll be us.

    2008, Tom Bissinger, Da Capo:Selected Writings 1967-2004: Selected Writings 1967-2004, Xlibris Corporation, →ISBN, page 91

    Once, when I needed Ms. Stone's help tying my shoe, she asked me, “What's the magic word?” I said, “Abracadabra.” When she asked me to try again, I said, “Shazam?”

    2017, James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein, Pottymouth and Stoopid, pages 13-14

    Synonyms: abracadabra, alakazam, hocus-pocus, presto chango, presto, voila, ta-da, abracadabra

verbshazam (third-person singular simple present shazams, present participle shazamming, simple past and past participle shazammed)

present singular third person shazams · participle present shazamming · participle past shazammed · past shazammed · alternative shazaam

  1. neologismtransitiveuncommonTo identify the artist or the name of a song using the Shazam application.

Synonyms & antonyms

Origin

Apparently coined by American comic book writer Bill Parker in February 1940, from the first letters of Solomon, Hercules, Atlas, Zeus, Achilles and Mercury.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic شِزَامُ!, اَلصَّوِيغ!
  • شِزَامُ! (šizāmu!)transform into a superhero
  • اَلصَّوِيغ! (aṣ-ṣawīḡ!)transform into a superhero
German Shazam!
  • Shazam!transform into a superhero
Greek σαζάμ!
  • σαζάμ! (sazám!)transform into a superhero
Japanese シャザム!
  • シャザム! (Shazamu!)transform into a superhero
Korean 샤잠!
  • 샤잠! (syajam!)transform into a superhero
Polish shazam
  • shazamtransform into a superhero

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with shazam

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

shazam. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shazam

MLA

“shazam.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shazam. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shazam,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shazam.

Source: shazam on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.