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View synonyms for bang

bang

1

[ bang ]

noun

  1. a loud, sudden, explosive noise, as the discharge of a gun.
  2. a resounding stroke or blow:

    a nasty bang on the head.

    Synonyms: cuff, bash, sock, wallop, box, clout, smack

  3. Informal. a sudden movement or show of energy:

    He started with a bang.

  4. The bang has gone out of my work.

  5. Informal. sudden or intense pleasure; thrill; excitement:

    a big bang out of seeing movies.

  6. Slang: Vulgar. an act or instance of sexual intercourse.
  7. Printing and Computer Slang. an exclamation point.


verb (used with object)

  1. to strike or beat resoundingly; pound:

    to bang a door.

  2. to hit or bump painfully:

    to bang one's ankle on a chair leg.

  3. to throw or set down roughly; slam:

    He banged the plates on the table.

  4. Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse with.

verb (used without object)

  1. to strike violently or noisily:

    to bang on the door.

  2. to make a loud, sudden, explosive noise like that of a violent blow:

    The guns banged all night.

  3. Slang: Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse.

adverb

  1. suddenly and loudly; abruptly or violently:

    She fell bang against the wall.

  2. precisely; directly; right:

    He stood bang in the middle of the flower bed.

verb phrase

  1. to collide with; bump into:

    The truck skidded on the ice and banged into a parked car.

  2. to damage:

    A passing car banged up our fender.

bang

2

[ bang ]

noun

  1. Usually bangs. a fringe of hair combed or brushed forward over the forehead.

verb (used with object)

  1. to cut (the hair) so as to form a fringe over the forehead.
  2. to dock (the tail of a horse or dog).

bang

3

[ bang ]

noun

bang

1

/ bæŋ /

noun

  1. a short loud explosive noise, as of the bursting of a balloon or the report of a gun
  2. a hard blow or knock, esp a noisy one; thump

    he gave the ball a bang

  3. informal.
    a startling or sudden effect

    he realized with a bang that he was late

  4. slang.
    an injection of heroin or other narcotic
  5. taboo.
    an act of sexual intercourse
  6. get a bang out of slang.
    get a bang out of to experience a thrill or excitement from
  7. with a bang
    with a bang successfully

    the party went with a bang



verb

  1. to hit or knock, esp with a loud noise; bump

    to bang one's head

  2. to move noisily or clumsily

    to bang about the house

  3. to close (a door, window, etc) or (of a door, etc) be closed noisily; slam
  4. tr to cause to move by hitting vigorously

    he banged the ball over the fence

  5. to make or cause to make a loud noise, as of an explosion
  6. tr
    1. to cause (stock prices) to fall by rapid selling
    2. to sell rapidly in (a stock market), thus causing prices to fall
  7. taboo.
    to have sexual intercourse with
  8. slang.
    intr to inject heroin, etc
  9. bang for one's buck informal.
    bang for one's buck value for money

    this option offers more bang for your buck

  10. bang goes informal.
    bang goes that is the end of

    bang goes my job in Wapping

  11. bang one's head against a brick wall
    bang one's head against a brick wall to try to achieve something impossible

adverb

  1. with a sudden impact or effect

    the car drove bang into a lamp-post

    bang went his hopes of winning

  2. precisely

    bang in the middle of the road

  3. bang to rights slang.
    bang to rights caught red-handed
  4. go bang
    go bang to burst, shut, etc, with a loud noise See also bang up

bang

2

/ bæŋ /

noun

  1. See bhang
    a variant spelling of bhang

bang

3

/ bæŋ /

noun

  1. a fringe or section of hair cut straight across the forehead

verb

  1. to cut (the hair) in such a style
  2. to dock (the tail of a horse, etc)

Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of bang1

First recorded in 1540–50; 1930–35 bang 1fordef 5; compare Old Norse banga ”to beat, hammer,” Low German bangen “to strike, beat,” German dialect banken; perhaps originally imitative

Origin of bang2

An Americanism dating back to 1870–75; short for bangtail

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Word History and Origins

Origin of bang1

C16: from Old Norse bang , banga hammer; related to Low German bangen to beat; all of imitative origin

Origin of bang2

C19: probably short for bangtail short tail

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. bang off, Chiefly British Slang. immediately; right away.
  2. bang on, Chiefly British Slang. terrific; marvelous; just right:

    That hat is absolutely bang on.

  3. bang to rights, Chiefly British. dead to rights:

    They caught us bang to rights, so there was no point pretending we were innocent.

More idioms and phrases containing bang

  • beat (bang) one's head against the wall
  • get a bang out of
  • go over big (with a bang)
  • more bang for the buck

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Example Sentences

Without fans, referees could more clearly hear the contact they would otherwise miss on bang-bang plays, not to mention the complaints from players and coaches.

E-commerce may have plunged into a coma of sorts when India’s coronavirus lockdown started at the end of March, but five months later it’s back with a bang.

From Quartz

The collaboration has not worked out every detail of a cyclic cosmos with no bang and no crunch, much less shown that we live in one.

They, like other banged-up teams, also had the time they needed for injuries to heal.

The hope was to lock in some of the deep carbon emission reductions brought on by the global slowdown—with the added benefit that green government spending can get more bang for the buck than traditional stimulus measures.

From Quartz

Did the French monarchy end not with a bang—or a whimper—but a smile?

More clumsily, fireworks stand in for the Big Bang and a potato and peas are invoked to explain relativity.

This professional seducer, of sorts, has been pictured holding a T-shirt reading “Diss Fatties, Bang Hotties.”

As ends of eras go, he recalls, it was mostly whimper and not much bang.

In 1996, John Paul II called the Big Bang theory “more than a hypothesis.”

Bang went the fragile bulb, as it splintered into a thousand atoms, and the mercury shot in sparkling globules over the table.

Garnache closed the door upon him with a bang, and smiled quietly as he turned to Valerie.

Miss Boutts replied that they were too busy in the daytime, but were asked once a week to a "bang-up" affair.

Immediately the door was opened just enough to let the two men glide in; then it was shut with a bang and bolted.

She closed the stove door with a bang, and approaching, assisted in removing Edna's dripping mackintosh.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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