bang

Noun

bang (plural bangs)

1. A sudden percussive noise.
   • When he struck it with a hammer, there was a loud bang.
   • A fiendish yell then followed / Ev'ry salvo's 'bang' and 'bloop'.1992, Bob Magor, Blood on the Board, page 39

   Synonyms:

   boom, report

2. 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.
3. (informal) An explosion.
   • When he pushed the detonator, the bang blew him off his feet.
4. (US, archaic) Synonym of bangs: hair hanging over the forehead, especially a hairstyle with such hair cut straight across.
   • his hair cut in front like a young lady's bang1880, William Dean Howells, The Undiscovered Country
   • She was not much to look at. Her red hair hung in an uncurled bang over her forehead1902, Barbara Baynton, Squeaker's Mate; reprinted in Carmel Bird, editor, The Penguin Century of Australian Stories, 2000, →ISBN

   Synonyms:

   bangs

5. (US) The symbol !, known as an exclamation point.
   • An e-mail address with an ! is called a bang path.
   • 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

   Synonyms:

   exclamation point, exclamation mark, pling

6. A factorial, in mathematics, because the factorial of n is written as n!
7. (slang, vulgar) An act of sexual intercourse.
8. An offbeat figure typical of reggae songs and played on guitar and piano.
9. (slang) An explosive product.
   • Load the bang into the hole.
10. (slang) An injection, a shot (of a narcotic drug).
    • 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
    • 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
11. (US, slang, Boston area) An abrupt left turn.
12. (Ireland, colloquial, slang) strong smell (of)
    • There was a bang of onions off his breath.
13. (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

Verb

bang (third-person singular simple present bangs, present participle banging, simple past and past participle banged)

1. (intransitive) To make sudden loud noises, often repeatedly, especially by exploding or hitting something.
   • The fireworks banged away all through the night.
   • Stop banging on the door. I heard you the first time!
2. (ambitransitive) To hit hard.
   • He banged the door shut.
   • David and Mary banged into each other.
3. To play a drum.
   • He banged his bongo in sync with the band.
4. (ambitransitive, slang, vulgar) To engage in sexual intercourse.
   • We can hear the couple banging upstairs.
   • 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

   Synonyms:

   nail, do it, have sex, approach, cohabit, common, company, copulate, couple, engage in sex

5. To hammer or to hit anything hard.
   • Hold the picture while I bang in this nail.
6. (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
7. (slang, transitive) To inject intravenously.
   • Do you smoke meth? No, I bang it.
8. (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...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
9. (obsolete, slang, transitive) To excel or surpass.
10. (intransitive, slang, stative) To be excellent; to be banging
    • This song bangs!

    Synonyms:

    eat, rule, rock, slap, devour, eat and leave no crumbs, excel, go hard, kick, kick ass

11. (Nigeria, slang) To fail, especially an exam; to flunk.
12. (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.
13. (US, slang) To gangbang; to participate in street gang criminal activity.
    • You know I still bang.
14. To play a sport aggressively.

Adverb

bang (not comparable)

1. (informal) Right, directly.
   • The passenger door was bang against the garage wall.
   • 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
2. (informal) Precisely, exactly, completely.
   • He arrived bang on time.
   • 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
3. (informal) With a sudden impact.
   • Distracted, he ran bang into the opening door.
4. (informal) Used as a general intensifier.
   • I'm bang up for it! (I'm very keen and willing to do it)
   • She's bang on it today. (She's on very good form today)

Interjection

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!”
   • 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