bang
( bangs plural & 3rd person present) ( banging present participle) ( banged past tense & past participle )
1 n-count; sound A bang is a sudden loud noise such as the noise of an explosion.
I heard four or five loud bangs..., She slammed the door with a bang...
2 verb If something bangs, it makes a sudden loud noise, once or several times.
The engine spat and banged. V
3 verb If you bang a door or if it bangs, it closes suddenly with a loud noise.
(=slam)
...the sound of doors banging... V
All up and down the street the windows bang shut... V adj
The wind banged a door somewhere. V n
4 verb If you bangon something or if you bang it, you hit it hard, making a loud noise.
We could bang on the desks and shout till they let us out... V on n
There is no point in shouting or banging the table. V n
5 verb If you bang something on something or if you bang it down, you quickly and violently put it on a surface, because you are angry.
She banged his dinner on the table... V n prep
He banged down the telephone. V n with adv
6 verb If you bang a part of your body, you accidentally knock it against something and hurt yourself.
She'd fainted and banged her head... V n
He hurried into the hall, banging his shin against a chair in the darkness. V n against/on n
Bang is also a noun., n-count
...a nasty bang on the head.
7 verb If you banginto something or someone, you bump or knock them hard, usually because you are not looking where you are going.
(=bump)
Various men kept banging into me in the narrow corridor. V into n
8 n-plural Bangs are hair which is cut so that it hangs over your forehead.
(AM)
in BRIT, use fringe
9 adv You can use bang to emphasize expressions that indicate an exact position or an exact time.
ADV prep (emphasis)
(=right)
...bang in the middle of the track..., For once you leave bang on time for work.
11 If you say bang goes something, you mean that it is now obvious that it cannot succeed or be achieved.
♦
bang goes sth phrase V inflects, PHR n
There will be more work to do, not less. Bang goes the fantasy of retirement at 35.
12 If something begins or ends with a bang, it begins or ends with a lot of energy, enthusiasm, or success.
♦
with a bang phrase PHR after v
Her career began with a bang in 1986.
13 →
to bang your head against a brick wall →
brick
bang-on , bang on
If someone is bang-on with something, they are exactly right in their opinions or actions.
(BRIT)
INFORMAL adj v-link ADJ
If we are not bang-on with our preparations then we could have problems...
big bang theory
In astronomy the big bang theory is a theory that suggests that the universe was created as a result of an extremely large explosion. n-sing the N
slap bang , slap-bang
Slap bang is used in expressions such as slap bang in the middle of somewhere to mean exactly in that place.
(BRIT)
INFORMAL adv ADV prep
Of course, slap-bang in the middle of town the rents are high.