Definitions

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

  • noun The peal of a bell.
  • noun Slang An empty-headed person; a fool.
  • intransitive verb To ring; jingle.
  • adjective Characterized by a hammering exchange, as of blows.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Alternative form of ding dong (sound made by a bell)
  • noun slang A woman's breast.
  • noun A fight, an argument; a set-to.
  • noun An idiot.

Etymologies

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

[Imitative.]

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Examples

  • The Reptile leaned forward and hit the button three times, fast -- _ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong.

    Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 2004

  • The Reptile leaned forward and hit the button three times, fast -- _ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong.

    Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine 2004

  • He was widely criticized for the comment.8.39pm: Now there's a ding-dong battle going on about Newt Gingrich's huge fees from Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored housing mortgage agency.

    CNN Florida Republican debate – as it happened 2012

  • What commenced is what history will record as Barack Obama's Big Jobs pitch, a rousing ding-dong wood shedding -- this president's finest in more than a calendar year and by far the most passionate a mostly dispassionate leader has given since taking office.

    James Campion: The Joe Cool Double-Reverse Hail Mary James Campion 2011

  • Another night, I had just got into bed hoping for an early night when the familiar ding-dong of the public address system disturbed the peace of my room.

    No freedom for foreign press at Tripoli's Rixos hotel 2011

  • If I insist then on adding how she made bizarre whooping noises and whenever the doors to the subway closed with the accompanying ding-dong sound, Emma cheerfully sang out, "Gank - You!" replicating the exact tone of the warning sound, one is left with a very different sense of who she is.

    Ariane Zurcher: A Balanced View on Autism Ariane Zurcher 2010

  • What commenced is what history will record as Barack Obama's Big Jobs pitch, a rousing ding-dong wood shedding -- this president's finest in more than a calendar year and by far the most passionate a mostly dispassionate leader has given since taking office.

    James Campion: The Joe Cool Double-Reverse Hail Mary James Campion 2011

  • If I insist then on adding how she made bizarre whooping noises and whenever the doors to the subway closed with the accompanying ding-dong sound, Emma cheerfully sang out, "Gank - You!" replicating the exact tone of the warning sound, one is left with a very different sense of who she is.

    Ariane Zurcher: A Balanced View on Autism Ariane Zurcher 2010

  • Go and have a look, and please comment -- Frank has called for non-US readers to comment as most of the ding-dong is from within the US.

    Libraries Maxine 2009

  • If I insist then on adding how she made bizarre whooping noises and whenever the doors to the subway closed with the accompanying ding-dong sound, Emma cheerfully sang out, "Gank - You!" replicating the exact tone of the warning sound, one is left with a very different sense of who she is.

    Ariane Zurcher: A Balanced View on Autism Ariane Zurcher 2010

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