What does "bung" mean?
A stopper, alternative to a cork, often made of rubber, used to prevent fluid passing through the neck of a bottle, vat, a hole in a vessel etc.
Bung
/ˈbʌŋ/ adj, noun, verb, slang
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A stopper, alternative to a cork, often made of rubber, used to prevent fluid passing through the neck of a bottle, vat, a hole in a vessel etc.
- Grammar: bung is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: anus, asshole, bar, bash.
- Useful contrasts: accomplish, careful placement, deliberate handling.
- Usage evidence: Bung it in the washing machine.
How to use "bung"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "bung" 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 "bung" 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 "bung" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "bung" 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 "bung" is acting as adj, 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 "anus" 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 "bung", 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 stopper, alternative to a cork, often made of rubber, used to prevent fluid passing through the neck of a bottle, vat, a hole in a vessel etc.
"With the heavy seas trying to broach the boat they baled — and eventually found someone had forgotten to put the bung in."
- 2 A purse. UK, obsolete
"Oft thsi crew of mates met together, and said there was no hope of nipping the boung because he held open his gowne so wide, and walked in such an open place."
- 3 a plug used to close a hole in a barrel or flask wordnet
- 4 The cecum or anus, especially of livestock.
- 5 The human anus. slang
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A bribe. slang
"It is almost a year since Luton Town's manager, Mike Newell, decided that whistle-blowing was no longer the preserve of referees and went public about illegal bungs."
- 7 The orifice in the bilge of a cask through which it is filled; bung-hole.
- 8 A sharper or pickpocket. obsolete, slang
"You filthy bung, away."
- 9 The landlord of a public house. UK, obsolete, slang
""Well, sir, I haven't got one," said the landlord, "or you should have it directly." […] "Could you oblige me with such a thing as a postage stamp?" "No," said the Bung; "don't keep 'em!""
Verb
- 1 To plug, as with a bung. transitive
"It has not yet been ascertained, which is the precise time when it becomes indispensable to bung the cider. The best, I believe, that can be done, is to seize the critical moment which precedes the formation of a pellicle on the surface..."
- 2 close with a cork or stopper wordnet
- 3 To put, throw, or place something without care; to chuck. Australia, UK, informal, transitive
""Doctors are queer birds. This one didn't mind a bit dabbling about that old thing to find out what had happened inside her. He's fixed her up for tonight and is coming tomorrow to put her leg in plaster, or something. He wanted to bung her off to a hospital, but I persuaded him not to.""
- 4 give a tip or gratuity to in return for a service, beyond the compensation agreed on wordnet
- 5 To batter, bruise; to cause to bulge or swell. transitive
"[T]he Chicken had been tapped, and bunged, and had received pepper, and had been made groggy, and had come up piping, and had endured a complication of similar strange inconveniences, until he had been gone into and finished."
Show 1 more definition
- 6 To pass a bribe to (someone). transitive
Adjective
- 1 Broken, not in working order; damaged; injured. Australia, New-Zealand, not-comparable, slang
"[…] My right eye has gone bung, and my left one is pretty dicky."
Antonyms
Example
"Bung it in the washing machine."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "bung"?
Common synonyms include: anus, asshole, bar, bash, batter, beat.
How do you use "bung" in a sentence?
Bung it in the washing machine.
How do you pronounce "bung"?
Pronounced /ˈbʌŋ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Medieval Dutch bonge, bonne or bonghe (“stopper”), or perhaps from French bonde, which may itself be either of Germanic origin or from Proto-Celtic *bunda—either way probably from puncta (“hole”), the feminine singular form of Latin punctus, perfect passive participle of pungō (“pierce into, prick”).
Etymology 2
Borrowed from Yagara bang (“dead”).
Etymology 3
From bouget (“wallet, purse or bag”), from Middle English bogett, bouget, bowgette (“leather pouch”), from Old French bougette, diminutive of bouge (“leather bag, wallet”), from Late Latin bulga (“wallet, purse”), from Gaulish bolgā, from Proto-Celtic *bolgos (“sack, bag, stomach”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰólǵʰ-os (“skin bag, bolster”), from *bʰelǵʰ- (“to swell”).