What does "bang" mean?
A sudden percussive noise.
Bang
/bæŋ/ adv, intj, noun, verb, slang
adv, intj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sudden percussive noise.
- Grammar: bang is listed as adv, intj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: strike, bam, boom, clap.
- Useful contrasts: bald forehead, calm, gentle contact.
- Usage evidence: They set off fireworks with a great bang.
How to use "bang"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bang" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "bang" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "bang" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bang" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "bang" is acting as adv, intj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "strike" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "bang", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sudden percussive noise.
"When he struck it with a hammer, there was a loud bang."
- 2 Archaic spelling of bhang. alt-of, archaic, uncountable
- 3 a conspicuous success wordnet
- 4 A strike upon an object causing such a noise.
- 5 a border of hair that is cut short and hangs across the forehead wordnet
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 An explosion.
- 7 a sudden very loud noise wordnet
- 8 Synonym of bangs: hair hanging over the forehead, especially a hairstyle with such hair cut straight across. US, archaic
"Tiffany has long hair and bangs."
- 9 a vigorous blow wordnet
- 10 The symbol !, known as an exclamation point. US
"An e-mail address with an ! is called a bang path."
- 11 the swift release of a store of affective force wordnet
- 12 A factorial, in mathematics, because the factorial of n is often written as n!
- 13 An act of sexual intercourse. slang, vulgar
- 14 An offbeat figure typical of reggae songs and played on guitar and piano.
- 15 An explosive product. slang
"Load the bang into the hole."
- 16 An injection, a shot (of a narcotic drug). slang
"Of course, I take a bang or some mud in coffee now and then, and I pick up on gage right smart."
- 17 An abrupt left turn. US, slang
- 18 strong smell (of) Ireland, colloquial, slang
"There was a bang of onions off his breath."
- 19 A thrill. slang
"I hate the movies like poison, but I get a bang imitating them."
Verb
- 1 To make sudden loud noises, and often repeatedly, especially by exploding or hitting something. intransitive
"The fireworks banged away all through the night."
- 2 leap, jerk, bang wordnet
- 3 To hit hard. ambitransitive
"He banged the door shut."
- 4 strike violently wordnet
- 5 To engage in sexual intercourse. ambitransitive, slang, vulgar
"We can hear the couple banging upstairs."
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 close violently wordnet
- 7 To hammer or to hit anything hard.
"Hold the picture while I bang in this nail."
- 8 have sexual intercourse with wordnet
- 9 To cut squarely across, as the tail of a horse, or a person's forelock; to cut (the hair). transitive
"His hair banged even with his eyebrows."
- 10 move noisily wordnet
- 11 To inject intravenously. slang, transitive
"Do you smoke meth? No, I bang it."
- 12 to produce a sharp often metallic explosive or percussive sound wordnet
- 13 To depress the prices in (a market). dated, transitive
"This accompt has been made to appear a bull accompt, i.e. that the bulls cannot take their stock. The fact is the reverse; it is a bear accompt, but the bears, unable to deliver their stock, have conjointly banged the market, and pocketed the tickets, to defeat the rise and loss that would have ensued to them by their buying on a rising price on the accompt day […]"
- 14 To excel or surpass. obsolete, slang, transitive
- 15 To be excellent; to be banging intransitive, slang, stative
"This song bangs!"
- 16 To fail, especially an exam; to flunk. Nigeria, slang
- 17 To make a turn in a vehicle; to hang a right, left, or uey. New-England, intransitive, slang
"Bang a right at the next stoplight."
- 18 To gangbang; to participate in street gang criminal activity. US, slang
"You know I still bang."
Adverb
- 1 Right, directly.
"The passenger door was bang against the garage wall."
- 2 Precisely.
"He arrived bang on time."
- 3 With a sudden impact.
"Distracted, he ran bang into the opening door."
Adverb
- 1 directly wordnet
Intj
- 1 A sudden percussive sound, such as made by the firing of a gun, slamming of a door, etc.
"He pointed his finger at her like a gun and said, “Bang!”"
Example
"They set off fireworks with a great bang."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bang"?
Common synonyms include: strike, bam, boom, clap, fringe, hit.
How do you use "bang" in a sentence?
They set off fireworks with a great bang.
How do you pronounce "bang"?
Pronounced /bæŋ/.
Etymology
From Middle English *bangen, from Old English *bangian or borrowed from Old Norse banga (“to pound, hammer”); both from Proto-Germanic *bangōną (“to beat, pound”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰen- (“to beat, hit, injure”). Cognate with Scots bang, bung (“to strike, bang, hurl, thrash, offend”), Icelandic banga (“to pound, hammer”), Old Swedish bånga ("to hammer"; whence modern Swedish banka (“to knock, pound, bang”)), Danish banke (“to beat”), bengel (“club”), Low German bangen, bangeln (“to strike, beat”), West Frisian bingel, bongel, Dutch bengel (“bell; rascal”), German Bengel (“club”), bungen (“to throb, pulsate”). In the sense of a fringe of hair, from bang off. In the sense of abrupt left turn, from Boston left and associated risk of a crash.