bang1

noun

• 1a sudden loud, sharp noise:the door slammed with a bang
• a sharp blow causing a sudden, loud noise:I went to answer a bang on the front door
• a sudden painful blow:a nasty bang on the head

• 2 (bangs) North American a fringe of hair cut straight across the forehead: she brushed back her wispy bangs

  [from a use of the adverb bang to mean 'abruptly']

• 3 vulgar slang an act of sexual intercourse.

• 4 Computing, chiefly North American the character ‘!’.

verb

• 1strike or put down (something) forcefully and noisily:he began to bang the table with his fist Sarah banged the phone down [no object]:someone was banging on the door
• [with object and adverbial] cause (something) to strike something else unexpectedly and sharply:I banged my head on the low beams [no object]:she banged into some shelves in the darkness
• [with object and adverbial of direction] (of a sports player) hit (a ball or a shot) forcefully and successfully:he banged home four penalties in the opening twenty minutes
• [no object] make a sudden loud noise, typically repeatedly:the shutter was banging in the wind
• (with reference to something such as a door) open or close noisily: [with object and complement]:he banged the kitchen door shut behind him
• [no object, with adverbial of direction] (of a person) move around or do something noisily:she was banging around the kitchen

• 2North American cut (hair) in a fringe.

• 3 vulgar slang (of a man) have sexual intercourse with (a woman).

adverb

• exactly:the train arrived bang on time
• completely:bring your wardrobe bang up to date

exclamation

• 1used to convey the sound of a sudden loud noise:party poppers went bang

• 2used to convey the suddenness of an action:the minute something becomes obsolete, bang, it’s gone