Definition
nounA sudden percussive noise.
nounA strike upon an object causing such a noise.
Sentence Examples
They set off fireworks with a great bang.
Don't shut the door with a bang.
There was a bang and I heard someone scream.
Word Origin & History
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.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"A fiendish yell then followed / Ev'ry salvo's 'bang' and 'bloop'."
— 1992, Bob Magor, Blood on the Board, page 39:
"his hair cut in front like a young lady's bang"
— 1880, William Dean Howells, The Undiscovered Country:
"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:
"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:
"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: