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.
Meanings
(informal, not-comparable) Right, directly.
After yet another missed penalty by Kvirikashvili from bang in front of the posts, England scored again, centre Tuilagi flying into the line and touching down under the bar. 2011 September 18, Ben Dirs, “Rugby World Cup 2011: England 41-10 Georgia”, in BBC Sport:
The passenger door was bang against the garage wall.
As always, this 19th EBR edition is full of bang-up-to-date useful facts. 2026 August 19, Vitali Vitaliev, “Europe by Rail”, in RAIL, number 1068, page 68:
He arrived bang on time.
(informal, not-comparable) With a sudden impact.
Distracted, he ran bang into the opening door.
(informal, not-comparable) Used as a general intensifier.
She's bang on it today. (She's on very good form today)
I'm bang up for it! (I'm very keen and willing to do it)
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.
Meanings
A sudden percussive sound, such as made by the firing of a gun, slamming of a door, etc.
We help to kill the bloody bandits. Bang, bang, bang. 1956, Anthony Burgess, Time for a Tiger (The Malayan Trilogy), published 1972, page 17:
Serve him right. Transgression—punishment—bang! Pitiless, pitiless. 1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, […], →OCLC, part I, page 215:
He pointed his finger at her like a gun and said, “Bang!”
“Just like parade it had been a minute before then stumble, bang, swish! Wiped out!” he said. 1898, H.G. Wells, The War of the Worlds, London: William Heinemann, page 84:
Bang! Away he goes with a mighty bound. Leo has missed him. Bang! right under him again. Now for a shot. I must have one, though he is going like an arrow, and a hundred yards away and more. 1886 October – 1887 January, H[enry] Rider Haggard, She: A History of Adventure, London: Longmans, Green, and Co., published 1887, →OCLC:
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.
Meanings
A sudden percussive noise.
A fiendish yell then followed / Ev'ry salvo's 'bang' and 'bloop'. 1992, Bob Magor, Blood on the Board, page 39:
When he struck it with a hammer, there was a loud bang.
A heavy strike upon an object causing such a noise.
I gave the door a bang and it swung open.
That bang on his head has sent him funny.
(informal) An explosion.
When he pushed the detonator, the bang blew him off his feet.
(US, archaic) Synonym of bangs: hair hanging over the forehead, especially a hairstyle with such hair cut straight across.
She was not much to look at. Her red hair hung in an uncurled bang over her forehead 1902, Barbara Baynton, Squeaker's Mate; reprinted in Carmel Bird, editor, The Penguin Century of Australian Stories, 2000, →ISBN:
his hair cut in front like a young lady's bang 1880, William Dean Howells, The Undiscovered Country:
(US) The symbol !, known as an exclamation point.
Incidentally, a useful abbreviation for "Exclamation point" is "Bang." 1980, C.W. Wilkinson, Peter H. Clarke, Dorothy C.M. Wilkinson, Communicating through Letters and Reports, 7th edition, page 651:
An e-mail address with an ! is called a bang path.
A factorial, in mathematics, because the factorial of n is written as n!
(slang, vulgar) An act of sexual intercourse.
An offbeat figure typical of reggae songs and played on guitar and piano.
(slang) An explosive product.
Load the bang into the hole.
(slang) An injection, a shot (of a narcotic drug).
As for myself, I take a bang now and then—I know plenty of croakers—but I really couldn't keep up a habit without a lot of running around and bother. 1952 January 19, William S. Burroughs, “To Allen Ginsberg”, in Oliver Harris, editor, The Letters of William S. Burroughs, 1945–1959, New York: Penguin, published 1993, →ISBN, page 101:
Of course, I take a bang or some mud in coffee now and then, and I pick up on gage right smart. 1951 December 20, William S. Burroughs, “To Allen Ginsberg”, in Oliver Harris, editor, The Letters of William S. Burroughs, 1945–1959, New York: Penguin, published 1993, →ISBN, page 98:
(US, qualifier:Boston area, slang) An abrupt left turn.
(Ireland, colloquial, slang) strong smell (of)
There was a bang of onions off his breath.
(slang) A thrill.
I hate the movies like poison, but I get a bang imitating them. 1951 July 16, J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 38:
"We all know you give great parties, Mr. Lippincott."
"It gives me a bang, even a bigger bang than this," Mr. Lippincott said, indicating his drink and then finishing it. 1993, Douglas Woolf, Sandra Braman, Hypocritic Days & Other Tales, page 40:
Yes, he got a bang out of cheating Rollo. 2000, James Hadley Chase, Make the Corpse Walk, page 31:
cs rána (a sudden percussive noise) · pl wybuch (an explosion) · el έκρηξη (an explosion) · gv bleayst (a sudden percussive noise) · sv utropstecken (the symbol !) · ja バン (a sudden percussive noise) · ga pléasc (a sudden percussive noise) · nl knal (a sudden percussive noise) · pl trzask (a sudden percussive noise) · ja ドスン (a sudden percussive noise) · izh paukku (a sudden percussive noise) · ru уда́р (a sudden percussive noise) · de Schlag (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · pl łoskot (a sudden percussive noise) · fi paukaus (a sudden percussive noise) · ru чёлка (hair hanging over the forehead) · it percussione (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · ar فَرْقَعَة (a sudden percussive noise) · fr coup (a sudden percussive noise) · es detonación (an explosion) · da knald (a sudden percussive noise) · da brag (a sudden percussive noise) · el μπαμ (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · sco blaff (a sudden percussive noise) · nl knal (an explosion) · ru баба́х (a sudden percussive noise) · gl croque (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · it schiocco (a sudden percussive noise) · pt pancada (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · gd beum (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · ko 쾅 (a sudden percussive noise) · it fragore (a sudden percussive noise) · da brag (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · sv smäll (an explosion) · nb smell (a sudden percussive noise) · de Knall (a sudden percussive noise) · de Ausrufzeichen (the symbol !) · de Stirnfranse (hair hanging over the forehead) · grc κτύπος (a sudden percussive noise) · es percusión (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · fr détonation (a sudden percussive noise) · da knald (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · pt estrondo (a sudden percussive noise) · sco blaff (an explosion) · nn smell (a sudden percussive noise) · pt ponto de exclamação (the symbol !) · es explosión (an explosion) · it punto esclamativo (the symbol !) · it botto (a sudden percussive noise) · pl huk (a sudden percussive noise) · is bang (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · sv smäll (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · cmn 哐 (a sudden percussive noise) · ru треск (a sudden percussive noise) · non bang (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · nl slag (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · fi pamaus (a sudden percussive noise) · ru восклица́тельный знак (the symbol !) · cmn 砰 (a sudden percussive noise) · ga plab (a sudden percussive noise) · ja ズドン (a sudden percussive noise) · ru бах (a sudden percussive noise) · bg тря́сък (a sudden percussive noise) · de Knall (an explosion) · id dentuman (an explosion) · fi paukaus (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · nl klap (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · nl klap (an explosion) · ja ドン (a sudden percussive noise) · nl klap (a sudden percussive noise) · es estruendo (a sudden percussive noise) · pt explosão (an explosion) · mi pahū (a sudden percussive noise) · bg експлозия (an explosion) · es zumbido (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · de Hieb (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · el θαυμαστικό (the symbol !) · cmn 轟 /轰 (a sudden percussive noise) · cs výbuch (an explosion) · it detonazione (an explosion) · fr explosion (an explosion) · es golpe (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · pt estalo (a sudden percussive noise) · fr coup (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · es estallido (a sudden percussive noise) · mi pakō (a sudden percussive noise) · it scoppio (an explosion) · es signo de exclamación (the symbol !) · el μπαμ (a sudden percussive noise) · id dentuman (a sudden percussive noise) · bg удивителна (the symbol !) · cs vykřičník (the symbol !) · pl wykrzyknik (the symbol !) · haw pohā (a sudden percussive noise) · pjt piltalya (a sudden percussive noise) · da brag (an explosion) · nl explosie (an explosion) · nl uitroepteken (the symbol !) · it colpo (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · fi paukahdus (a sudden percussive noise) · da knald (an explosion) · fr détonation (an explosion) · fi huutomerkki (the symbol !) · es chupinazo (a sudden percussive noise) · fi räjähdys (an explosion) · fr point d'exclamation (the symbol !) · mi pohū (a sudden percussive noise) · de pony (hair hanging over the forehead) · sv smäll (a sudden percussive noise) · hu felkiáltójel (the symbol !) · it esplosione (an explosion) · gl golpe (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · de Explosion (an explosion) · bg взрив (an explosion) · tr patlama (an explosion) · cmn 劉海 /刘海 (hair hanging over the forehead) · es zarpazo (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · fi paukahdus (a strike upon an object causing such a noise) · pt franja (hair hanging over the forehead)
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.
Meanings
(intransitive) To make sudden loud noises, often repeatedly, especially by exploding or hitting something.
Stop banging on the door. I heard you the first time!
The fireworks banged away all through the night.
My head was banging after drinking all night at the concert.
(ambitransitive) To hit hard.
David and Mary banged into each other.
The desperate tempest hath so banged the Turks. c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Othello, the Moore of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i]:
He banged the door shut.
Ivor had acquired more than a mile of fishing rights with the house; he was not at all a good fisherman, but one must do something; one generally, however, banged a ball with a squash-racket against a wall. 1922, Michael Arlen, “3/19/2”, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
To play a drum.
He banged his bongo in sync with the band.
(ambitransitive, slang, vulgar) To engage in sexual intercourse.
We can hear the couple banging upstairs.
Moe Greene: He was banging cocktail waitresses two at a time! 1972, Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather:
It's also my job to take care of the skanks on the road that you bang. 1996, Cameron Crowe, Jerry Maguire, spoken by Bob Sugar (Jay Mohr), Culver City, Calif.: TriStar Pictures; distributed by Columbia TriStar Home Video, published 1997, →ISBN:
(with "in") To hammer or to hit anything hard.
Hold the picture while I bang in this nail.
(transitive) To cut squarely across, as the tail of a horse, or a person's forelock; to cut (the hair).
His hair banged even with his eyebrows. c. 1883, Frank Hamilton Cushing, Becomin a Zuni:
(slang, transitive) To inject intravenously.
Do you smoke meth? No, I bang it.
(dated, transitive) To depress the prices in (a market).
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 […] 1821, Bank of England, The Bank - The Stock Exchange - The Bankers ..., page 64:
[…] the London "Bears" have promptly banged the market again […] 1902, Truth, volume 50, page 1138:
(obsolete, slang, transitive) To excel or surpass.
(intransitive, slang, stative) To be excellent; to be banging
This song bangs!
(Nigeria, slang) To fail, especially an exam; to flunk.
(New-England, intransitive, slang) To make a turn in a vehicle; to hang a right, left, or uey.
Bang a right at the next stoplight.
(US, slang) To gangbang; to participate in street gang criminal activity.
sv smälla (to make sudden loud noises) · it battere (to hit hard) · it martellare (to make sudden loud noises) · tr sikmek (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · it scopare (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · it scoppiare (to make sudden loud noises) · da brage (to make sudden loud noises) · fi paukuttaa (to hammer) · fi paukkua (to make sudden loud noises) · it martellare (to hammer) · fr baiser (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · fr tirer sa crampe (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · el σφυροκοπώ (to hammer) · de einen Pony schneiden (to cut hair squarely across) · it picchiare (to hit hard) · pjt piltalytjunanyi (to make sudden loud noises) · fi paukahtaa (to make sudden loud noises) · pt martelar (to hammer) · izh paukkia (to make sudden loud noises) · fr frapper (to hit hard) · el χτυπώ (to hit hard) · ja 食う (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · eo knali (to make sudden loud noises) · gd buail (to hammer) · fi vasaroida (to hammer) · ota دوزمك (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · nb pule (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · ja やる 寝る (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · bg гърмя (to make sudden loud noises) · fr claquer (to make sudden loud noises) · de bumsen (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · fi pamauttaa (to make sudden loud noises) · fr cogner (to hit hard) · it martellare (to hit hard) · fi paiskia (to hit hard) · fi panna (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · fi pamahtaa (to make sudden loud noises) · it battere (to make sudden loud noises) · ja 犯す (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · id ngentot (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · vi chịch (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · fr niquer (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · vi phang (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · de schlagen (to hit hard) · bg чукам (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · hy դոմփել (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · ru тра́хать (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · ota سیكمك (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · da knalde (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · de knallen (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · non banga (to hammer) · ga plab (to make sudden loud noises) · ga pléasc (to make sudden loud noises) · it colpire (to hammer) · de ficken (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · da knalde (to make sudden loud noises) · fi pamahdella (to make sudden loud noises) · fr marteler (to hammer) · izh jyryttää (to hit hard) · el χτυπώ (to make sudden loud noises) · it fottere (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · pt comer (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · el βροντάω (to hit hard) · fi paukauttaa (to make sudden loud noises) · fi räiskiä (to make sudden loud noises) · cmn 幹 /干 (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · de einschlagen (to hammer) · mi pohū (to make sudden loud noises) · gl trucar (to hit hard) · vi xoạc (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · fr faire an-an (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · de knallen (to make sudden loud noises) · is banga (to hammer) · fi paukuttaa (to make sudden loud noises) · ru тра́хаться (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · fi paiskata (to hit hard) · mi pahū (to make sudden loud noises) · it battere (to hammer) · izh paukkaa (to make sudden loud noises) · izh paukata (to make sudden loud noises) · nl knallen (to make sudden loud noises) · fi paiskoa (to hit hard) · la battuō (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · mi pakō (to make sudden loud noises) · nb knulle (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · el πηδάω (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · pt estalar (to make sudden loud noises) · it picchiare (to make sudden loud noises) · grc σποδέω (slang: to engage in sexual intercourse) · fr cogner (to make sudden loud noises)