banging

1. 1
   verb

   Present participle and gerund of bang.

   The drummer was banging out a steady rhythm on the old kit.

   Someone is banging at the front door downstairs.

   Note

   The -ing form carries every sense of bang, from noise and blows to the vulgar slang for sex. That last meaning drives Moe Greene's boast in The Godfather (1972) that a man was "banging cocktail waitresses two at a time." After be it is progressive (was banging on the door), and as a gerund it works as a noun. With an object it is still a verb; before a noun, as in a banging burrito place, it has become the slang word of praise.

2. 2
   noununcountable

   The action or sound produced by something that strikes, knocks, or slams loudly.

   The rhythmic banging of a loose shutter echoed through the empty house.

   Neighbors complained about the banging coming from the workshop late at night.

   Similarknocking, pounding, thumping, hammering, clattering

   Note

   One continuous din is uncountable: the banging of the hammers, the banging next door. Separate, repeated episodes of noise can be counted, so a house can have strange bangings that someone blames on a poltergeist. The plural sounds slightly literary and suits mysterious or intermittent noises. For a steady racket, the singular with of is the everyday choice.

3. 3
   adjectiveslang

   Excellent, exciting, or extremely good.

   The festival had a banging lineup of bands this year.

   Critics agree the restaurant serves banging food at low prices.

   Similargreat, brilliant, awesome, amazing, excellent

   Oppositeterrible, awful, lousy

   Note

   Slang praise that usually sits right before its noun: a banging haircut, a banging lineup, banging food. In Rye Lane (2023), Yas suggests "this banging burrito place in Brixton," which is typical of the word's home ground of food, music and nights out. It is warm and casual, fine among friends, and too loose for formal writing. Aimed at a person rather than a thing, it shifts toward the sense of sexual appeal.

4. 4
   adjectiveslang

   Physically attractive; sexually appealing.

   He showed up to the reunion looking banging in a tailored suit.

   They all agreed the band's singer was absolutely banging.

   Similarhot, gorgeous, sexy, stunning, fit

   Oppositeugly, unattractive

   Note

   Said of people and their looks rather than of food or music, the slang compliment picks up a sexual charge. Between friends it is admiring, but said to or about a stranger it can sound crude. That edge comes from the word's link to the slang for sex. If you only mean "great," use it of things, not of bodies.

5. 5
   nounslanguncountable

   An instance or session of sexual intercourse.

   He bragged to his roommates about the previous night's banging.

   What started as a casual date turned into a weekend of banging.

   Similarsex, shagging, screwing

   Note

   A coarse slang noun built on the vulgar verb, and best kept among friends. It is crude in company and out of place in writing. Context does all the work, because the same word names ordinary noise, so "a lot of banging upstairs" can be heard either way. Like the noise sense, it can be counted (a quick banging) or left as a mass noun (a weekend of banging).

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