Real Dictionary

shock wave
countable noun: A shock wave is an area of very high pressure moving through the air, earth, or water. It is caused by an explosion or an earthquake, or by an object travelling faster than sound.

shock wave in American English
a surface of discontinuity in a flow of air, sound, etc. set up when the flow suddenly changes from subsonic to supersonic, characterized by marked increases in temperature, pressure, and density of the flow, as in supersonic flow about an airplane wing
noun: a region of abrupt change of pressure and density moving as a wave front at or above the velocity of sound, caused by an intense explosion or supersonic flow over a body

shock wave in British English
noun: a region across which there is a rapid pressure, temperature, and density rise, usually caused by a body moving supersonically in a gas or by a detonation

shock wave in Mechanical Engineering
noun: A shock wave is a type of wave in a fluid in which there is a sudden change in pressure, for example when a very fast solid object moves in the fluid.