What does "tang" mean?
A refreshingly sharp aroma or flavor.
Tang
/tæŋ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A refreshingly sharp aroma or flavor.
- Grammar: tang is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: piquancy, aftertaste, aroma, attribute.
- Useful contrasts: blandness, flatness.
- Usage evidence: Citrus adds a nice tang to a salad dressing.
How to use "tang"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "tang" 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 "tang" 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 "tang" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "tang" 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 "tang" is acting as name, 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 "piquancy" 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 "tang", 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 refreshingly sharp aroma or flavor.
"a tang of citrus"
- 2 A sharp, twanging sound; an unpleasant tone; a twang.
- 3 knotted wrack, Ascophyllum nodosum (coarse blackish seaweed) countable, rare, uncountable
- 4 The vagina or vulva. countable, slang, vulgar
"The guys like to look at her tang, because that's how they are […]"
- 5 Any of a group of saltwater fish from the family Acanthuridae, especially the genus Zebrasoma.
Show 17 more definitions
- 6 any of various kelps especially of the genus Laminaria wordnet
- 7 A strong or offensive taste; especially, a taste of something extraneous to the thing itself.
"a tang of cellar"
- 8 Sexual intercourse with a woman slang, uncountable, vulgar
- 9 any of various coarse seaweeds wordnet
- 10 A sharp, specific flavor or tinge. figuratively
"a tang of pedantry"
- 11 brown algae seaweed with serrated edges wordnet
- 12 A projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to a handle, or to some other part.
"slip the cable over the tang"
- 13 a common rockweed used in preparing kelp and as manure wordnet
- 14 A projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to a handle, or to some other part.; The part of a knife, fork, file, or other instrument or hand tool, which is inserted into the handle.
"full-tang"
- 15 a tart spicy quality wordnet
- 16 A projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to a handle, or to some other part.; The part of a knife, fork, file, or other instrument or hand tool, which is inserted into the handle.; The part of a sword blade to which the handle is fastened.
"I spent the evening collecting the abandoned nests of birds from a rock face a half league distant, and that night I struck fire from the tang of Terminus Est and boiled the coarse meal (which took a long time to cook, because of the altitude) and ate it."
- 17 the taste experience when a savoury condiment is taken into the mouth wordnet
- 18 A projecting part of an object by means of which it is secured to a handle, or to some other part.; The projecting part of the breech of a musket barrel, by which the barrel is secured to the stock.
"The rifle carried a vernier sight on the tang[…]"
- 19 the imperial dynasty of China from 618 to 907 wordnet
- 20 A shuffleboard paddle.
- 21 Obsolete form of tongue. alt-of, obsolete
"1667, John Lacy, Sauny the Scot: Or, the Taming of the Shrew, Act V, Sauny Hear ye, sir; could not ye mistake, and pull her tang out instead of her teeth?"
- 22 Anything resembling a tongue in form or position, such as the tongue of a buckle. broadly
Verb
- 1 To strike two metal objects together loudly in order to persuade a swarm of honeybees to land so it may be captured by the beekeeper. dated
- 2 To make a ringing sound; to ring.
"let thy tongue tang arguments of state"
Proper Noun
- 1 The imperial dynasty of China which reigned from 618 to 907.
"The two sculptures, which were part of religious rites, belong to the Tang dynasty, which ruled between 618 and 907 AD and is considered a golden period of the Chinese civilization."
- 2 A Chinese surname from Mandarin.
- 3 A Chinese surname from Cantonese.
- 4 A Chinese surname from Cantonese.
- 5 A Chinese surname from Teochew.
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 A Chinese surname from Hokkien.
- 7 Any of a number of places, including a village in Iran and a village in Afghanistan.
- 8 A gewog of Bumthang District, Bhutan.
- 9 The Turkic dynasty of China which lasted from 923 to 936.
"Empress Liu (ca. 890-926 A.D.), whose birthplace was Chenan in Wei (now Chenan county, Hebei province), was the wife of Li Cunxu, who reigned as Emperor Zhuangzong, during the Tang dynasty."
- 10 A kingdom in China which existed between 937 and 975.
- 11 Any of a number of places in China.
- 12 Any of a number of places in China.; A county of Baoding, Hebei, China.
"A biography of Hu claims that Hu's attitudes changed in 1961, after he was sent to supervise agricultural policy changes in Tang county, Hebei province."
- 13 A Chinese surname from Mandarin.
Example
"Citrus adds a nice tang to a salad dressing."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "tang"?
Common synonyms include: piquancy, aftertaste, aroma, attribute, badge, beesting.
How do you use "tang" in a sentence?
Citrus adds a nice tang to a salad dressing.
How do you pronounce "tang"?
Pronounced /tæŋ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English tange, variant of tonge (“tongs, fang”), from Old Norse tangi (“pointed metal tool”), perhaps related to Old Norse tunga (“tongue”). But see also Middle Dutch tanger (“sharp, tart, pinching”).
Etymology 2
Imitative
Etymology 3
Probably of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish tang (“seaweed”), Swedish tång, Icelandic þang
Etymology 4
Clipping of poontang.
Etymology 5
Unknown
Etymology 6
Borrowed from Mandarin 唐 (Táng).
Etymology 7
Borrowed from Mandarin 湯 /汤 (Tāng).
Etymology 8
Borrowed from Cantonese 滕 (tang4).
Etymology 9
Borrowed from Cantonese 鄧 /邓 (dang6).
Etymology 10
Borrowed from Teochew 陳 /陈 (dang5).
Etymology 11
Borrowed from Hokkien 董 (táng).
Etymology 12
Borrowed from Persian تنگ (tang, “narrow, tight”).
Etymology 13
Borrowed from Dzongkha སྟང (stang).