# ding

Pronunciation: say "DING" /dɪŋ/

## Noun

1. The high, ringing sound made by a bell or a similar piece of metal.
   - Simple: A short, high ringing sound, like a small bell.
   - _A bright ding announced that the toaster had finished._
   - _The shopkeeper smiled at the cheerful ding above the door._
3. A small dent or chip caused by being struck or knocked against something. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A small dent or chip caused by being hit or knocked.
   - _A small ding in the fender lowered the resale price of the truck._
   - _The guitar had picked up a few dings from years of touring._
6. A rejection, especially of an application, request, or candidate. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A time when someone says no to you or turns you down.
   - _The startup took the investor's ding as a sign to rethink its pitch._
   - _A string of dings from law schools left her discouraged._
10. In a game, the act of advancing to the next experience level. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The moment in a game when your character reaches the next level.
   - _Her ding came right as the boss fight ended._
   - _Guildmates flooded the chat with congratulations after his ding._
15. A type of ancient Chinese vessel standing on legs and fitted with a lid.
   - Simple: An old Chinese pot that stands on legs and has a lid.
   - _Archaeologists unearthed a ceremonial ding at the burial site._
   - _The bronze ding bore inscriptions from the Shang dynasty._
16. Someone native to Hong Kong's New Territories who is entitled under the Small House Policy to build a village house. *(Hong Kong)*
   - Simple: A native resident of Hong Kong's New Territories who is allowed to build a village house under a special policy.
   - _Only a ding can apply for a small-house grant in these villages._
   - _The committee verified that each applicant was a recognized ding._
17. An offensive term for an Italian person, specifically an Italian Australian. *(dialectal, Australia, Western)*
   - Simple: An unkind, insulting word for an Italian person, especially an Italian Australian.
   - _Decades ago, schoolchildren taunted him as a ding for his accent._
   - _She bristled whenever someone in town called her people dings._

## Verb

2. To make a high, ringing sound similar to that of a bell.
   - Simple: To make a short, high ringing sound like a bell.
   - _The register dinged each time a sale went through._
   - _Service bells ding sharply at the front desk all day._
4. To cause minor damage to something, especially by hitting or striking it.
   - Simple: To cause small damage to something by hitting or knocking it.
   - _Movers can easily ding a wall while carrying heavy furniture._
   - _A stray pebble dinged the windshield on the highway._
5. To hit or strike something.
   - Simple: To hit or knock something.
   - _The waiter dinged a glass to get everyone's attention._
   - _Ding the triangle twice to signal the start of the race._
7. To reject someone, or to fire them from a job. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To say no to someone, or to make them leave a job.
   - _The board dinged two finalists before settling on a candidate._
   - _Editors will ding a manuscript that ignores their submission guidelines._
8. To deduct points from someone as a penalty; to penalize. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To take points away from someone as a penalty.
   - _The reviewer dinged the restaurant for slow service._
   - _Inspectors will ding a kitchen for any sign of poor hygiene._
9. To mishit a golf ball.
   - Simple: To hit a golf ball badly.
   - _She dinged her drive off the tee and watched it slice right._
   - _Even strong players ding the occasional shot under pressure._
11. To advance to the next experience level in a game. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: To reach the next level in a game.
   - _He dinged twice in a single evening of questing._
   - _Players ding more slowly once they pass the midgame._
12. To throw or hurl something violently; to dash it down.
   - Simple: To throw something down hard, or smash it with force.
   - _She dinged the empty bottle into the bin with a crash._
   - _Furious, they ding their helmets to the ground after losing._
13. To repeat something insistently so as to impress it on someone, like a bell struck over and over.
   - Simple: To say something over and over so a person remembers it.
   - _She dinged the safety instructions into the new recruits all week._
   - _Parents ding good manners into their children from an early age._
14. Of rain, to come down heavily and without letup, falling with great force. *(dialectal, Scotland)*
   - Simple: Used about rain that falls very hard and does not stop.
   - _The forecast says it'll ding on right through the weekend in Glasgow, so the barbecue is off._
   - _It was dinging down so hard overnight that the river by the farm burst its banks._

## Origin

**Meanings 3–9, 12, 14** — From Middle English dingen, from Old English *dingan ("to ding"), from Proto-Germanic *dingwaną ("to beat"), and ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *dʰen- ("to beat, push"). It is related to Old Norse dengja ("to hammer") and cognate with Swedish dänga and German dengeln.
**Meanings 1–2, 10–11, 13** — Onomatopoeic, imitating the sound; compare ding-dong.
**Meaning 15** — Romanized from Mandarin 鼎 (dǐng).
**Meaning 16** — From Cantonese 丁 (ding¹).

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