# bang

Pronunciation: say "BANG" /bæŋ(ɡ)/

## Noun

1. A sudden loud, sharp noise, such as that of an explosion, a gunshot, or a slammed door; also, the explosion itself.
   - Simple: A sudden loud noise, like a gun firing or a door slamming. Also, an explosion.
   - _Investigators traced the bang that leveled the warehouse to a faulty gas line._
   - _We heard a loud bang from the kitchen and ran to see what had fallen._
5. A strike upon an object that produces a sudden, loud noise.
   - Simple: A hard hit on something that makes a loud noise.
   - _The plumber silenced the rattle with a single bang of his wrench._
   - _Each bang of the judge's gavel cut through the courtroom chatter._
9. An act of sexual intercourse. *(slang)*
   - Simple: An act of having sex.
   - _For him it was just a bang; for her it had meant something._
   - _He treated every date as a potential bang, and word got around fast._
10. An explosive product. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Material that explodes, used for breaking rock in mines.
   - _The foreman made sure every stick of bang was locked away before the crew went home._
   - _There's enough bang in that shed to level the hillside._
13. Another name for the exclamation point, the punctuation mark (!). *(US)*
   - Simple: A name for the mark (!), which most people call an exclamation point.
   - _In many programming languages, a bang in front of a value means 'not'._
   - _Old email routes strung host names together with bangs._
14. A thrill; a jolt of excitement or pleasure. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A feeling of fun and excitement that something gives you.
   - _She gets a genuine bang out of solving a tough crossword._
   - _My grandfather still gets a bang out of driving his old convertible on summer weekends._
16. An injected dose of a narcotic drug such as heroin. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A shot of a drug given through a needle.
   - _After his first bang of heroin, he chased that feeling for years._
   - _By the time he checked into rehab, he needed a bang of heroin every few hours just to feel normal._
21. A strong smell of something, especially one given off by a person or thing. *(slang, Ireland)*
   - Simple: A strong smell coming off someone or something.
   - _You could get a bang of diesel off the old ferry from the dock._
   - _There's been a fierce bang of damp off that back bedroom all winter._

## Verb

2. To hit something or a part of the body hard, or to strike something repeatedly, often making a loud noise.
   - Simple: To hit something hard, often making a loud noise.
   - _She banged her elbow on the doorframe rushing out._
   - _The movers managed to bang the dresser against every wall in the stairwell._
3. To make one or a series of loud, sudden noises, as from something exploding or being struck.
   - Simple: To make sudden loud noises, often again and again.
   - _Loose shutters banged against the house all through the storm._
   - _Fireworks bang over the river every Fourth of July._
6. To have sexual intercourse, either with a named partner or without one being mentioned. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To have sex, or to have sex with someone.
   - _Rumors spread that the two of them used to bang after closing time._
   - _He bragged about banging her, and she never spoke to him again._
8. To be excellent; to be impressively good. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To be very good or exciting.
   - _This track bangs harder than anything else on the album._
   - _The tacos at that little stand bang._
15. To cut (hair, a horse's tail, or a person's forelock) squarely across.
   - Simple: To cut hair straight across so that it ends in a level line.
   - _Grooms bang the tails of show horses before competition._
   - _After washing the tail, the groom banged it level a few inches below the hocks._
17. To inject a drug intravenously. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To put a drug straight into a vein with a needle.
   - _Some users bang the drug rather than smoke it, which raises the risk of infection._
   - _He had been banging methamphetamine for a year before anyone noticed._
18. To turn a vehicle, whether to the right or left or as a U-turn. *(dialectal, New England)*
   - Simple: To make a quick, sharp turn while driving a car.
   - _If you miss the exit, just bang a U-ey at the next light and come back._
   - _The cab driver banged a quick right onto a side street to get around the traffic._
19. To participate in street gang life and criminal activity; to gangbang. *(slang, US)*
   - Simple: To take part in the crimes and life of a street gang.
   - _Plenty of kids on that block bang because they see no other option._
   - _He stopped banging after his best friend was shot._
22. To receive a failing grade in something, especially an exam. *(slang, Nigeria)*
   - Simple: To fail something, especially a test at school.
   - _Half the lecture hall banged the organic chemistry midterm._
   - _Students who bang the bar exam can retake it in February._

## Interjection

4. Used to represent a sudden percussive sound, such as that made by the firing of a gun or the slamming of a door.
   - Simple: Used to copy the sound of something sudden and loud, like a gun or a slammed door.
   - _Bang! The screen door slammed shut behind her._
   - _Then, bang, the transformer blew and the whole street went dark._

## Adverb

7. Exactly, precisely, or directly, as in 'bang on time' or 'bang in the middle'.
   - Simple: Exactly or right, as in 'bang on time' or 'bang in the middle'.
   - _The movie started bang on schedule for once._
   - _The dart landed bang in the middle of the board._
12. With a sudden impact.
   - Simple: With a sudden, hard hit or crash.
   - _He went bang into the lamppost while reading his phone._
   - _The shutter blew bang against the wall with every gust._

## Noun

11. Hair hanging over the forehead, especially when cut straight across as a hairstyle; the singular equivalent of the plural bangs. *(archaic, US)*
   - Simple: Hair that hangs down over the forehead, often cut straight across.

## Verb

20. To force prices down in a market, especially as a deliberate trading tactic. *(dated)*
   - Simple: To make prices in a market fall on purpose.
23. To excel or surpass. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To be better than someone or something else.

## Other meanings

- (noun) An abrupt left turn made in a vehicle.
- (noun) A factorial, so called because the factorial of n is often written as n!.
- (noun) A rhythmic figure on the offbeat, played on guitar and piano, that is characteristic of reggae.

## Origin

From Middle English, either from Old English or borrowed from Old Norse banga ('to pound, hammer'), both going back to Proto-Germanic and probably ultimately a Proto-Indo-European root meaning 'to beat, hit, injure'. The sense of a fringe of hair comes from 'bang off', and the sense of an abrupt left turn comes from 'Boston left' and the risk of a crash.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/bang (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).