Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A sudden loud noise, as of an explosion.
  • noun A sudden loud blow or bump.
  • noun Informal A sudden burst of action.
  • noun Slang A sense of excitement; a thrill.
  • intransitive verb To strike heavily and often repeatedly; bump.
  • intransitive verb To close suddenly and loudly; slam.
  • intransitive verb To handle noisily or violently.
  • intransitive verb Vulgar Slang To have sexual intercourse with.
  • intransitive verb To make a sudden loud, explosive noise.
  • intransitive verb To crash noisily against or into something.
  • adverb Exactly; precisely.
  • adverb Suddenly; abruptly.
  • interjection Used to indicate the sound of an explosion or collision.
  • idiom (bang for the/one's) Value returned for investment or effort.
  • noun A fringe of hair cut short and straight across the forehead.
  • transitive verb To cut (hair) to form bangs.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • To beat, as with a club or cudgel; thump; cudgel.
  • To beat or handle roughly in any way; treat with violence; knock about; drub; defeat: often with about: as, to bang the furniture about.
  • To produce a loud noise from or by, as in slamming a door, and the like: as, he went out and banged the door behind him.
  • To beat in any quality or action; surpass; excel.
  • To strike violently or noisily; thump: usually with against.
  • To resound with clashing noises.
  • To spring or move with sudden energy or impetus; bounce: as, he banged up at once.
  • With a sudden or violent blow or clap; all of a sudden; abruptly: especially with come or go: as, bang went the guns.
  • To cut across: used of hair. To cut (the hair) so as to form a fringe over the forehead: a common fashion with girls and young women.
  • To dock (a horse's tail).
  • noun A heavy, resounding blow; a thump, as with a club.
  • noun A loud, sudden, explosive noise, as the discharge of a gun or cannon, the slamming of a door, etc.
  • noun A sudden, impetuous movement; an energetic dash or bounce: as, he got up with a bang.
  • noun A stick; a club.
  • noun Synonyms See thump.
  • noun The front hair cut so as to hang evenly over the forehead: often in the plural: as, to wear bangs.
  • noun See bhang.
  • noun The Cuban sardine, Sardinella pseudohispanica.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To make a loud noise, as if with a blow or succession of blows.
  • intransitive verb vulgar slang To have sexual intercourse; to fuck. Considered vulgar and obscene.
  • transitive verb To beat, as with a club or cudgel; to treat with violence; to handle roughly.
  • transitive verb To beat or thump, or to cause (something) to hit or strike against another object, in such a way as to make a loud noise.
  • transitive verb vulgar slang To have sexual intercourse with; to fuck; -- usually used with the male as a subject. Considered vulgar or obscene.
  • transitive verb To cut squarely across, as the tail of a horse, or the forelock of human beings; to cut (the hair).
  • noun The short, front hair combed down over the forehead, esp. when cut squarely across; a false front of hair similarly worn; -- usually used in the plural.
  • noun See bhang.
  • noun A blow as with a club; a heavy blow.
  • noun The loud sound produced by a sudden concussion or explosion.
  • noun informal A surge of pleasure; a thrill; -- usually used in the phrase get a bang out of.
  • noun (Printing & Computers), slang An exclamation point; -- used in verbal descriptions of text, in printing and in computer technology.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably from Old Norse bang, a hammering.]

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From bang, abruptly, as in the phrase cut bang off, to cut off abruptly.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Shortened from Bang's disease.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Probably derived from, or at least cognate with, Old Norse and Icelandic banga ("to pound, hammer"), cognate with Danish banke ("to beat"), bengel and German Bengel ("club"), bungen ("pulsate") (rare) etc.

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word bang.

Examples

  • February 18, 2008 at 4:19 am ackshully shood hab sed, insted ob *shoot shoot bang bang*

    out of control teen kitteh - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2008

  • With amazing coolness, the New Englander brought his Winchester to a level, and _bang, bang, bang_, he shattered three of the knots in quick succession.

    The Land of Mystery Edward Sylvester Ellis 1878

  • He was soon assured of that fact, for as the steamer was lit-up by the port-fire as well as the prahus, _bang, bang, bang, bang_, one after the other, came the reports of the brass guns the two long boats had on board, and a hail of small iron balls came whistling through the rigging.

    Middy and Ensign George Manville Fenn 1870

  • There was the rattling of a key faintly heard, and then _bang, bang, bang_, and the ringing of the bell.

    In Honour's Cause A Tale of the Days of George the First George Manville Fenn 1870

  • Whatever it is, going out with a bang is a great idea.

    Another Dark Knight Viral Update - The Clock is Ticking! « FirstShowing.net 2008

  • The new willingness to consider what might have happened before the bang is the latest swing of an intellectual pendulum that has rocked back and forth for millennia.

    Archive 2004-07-01 M-mv 2004

  • The new willingness to consider what might have happened before the bang is the latest swing of an intellectual pendulum that has rocked back and forth for millennia.

    07.04 M-mv 2004

  • The new willingness to consider what might have happened before the bang is the latest swing of an intellectual pendulum that has rocked back and forth for millennia.

    Man, I love mind-stretching stuff like this. M-mv 2004

  • Backpack marked with a 'bang' prompted Los Angeles' Union Station evacuation A BACKPACK with the word "bang" written on it prompted authorities to evacuate sections of Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.

    NEWS.com.au | Top Stories 2011

  • Backpack marked with a 'bang' prompted Los Angeles' Union Station evacuation A BACKPACK with the word "bang" written on it prompted authorities to evacuate sections of Union Station in downtown Los Angeles this afternoon local time authorities said.

    NEWS.com.au | Top Stories 2011

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.