bling
Americannoun
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expensive and flashy jewelry, clothing, or other possessions.
-
the flaunting of such possessions or the flashy lifestyle associated with it.
adjective
verb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
Etymology
Origin of bling
1995-2000; perhaps imitative of the imaginary sound that light makes when reflecting off a diamond
Explanation
Bling is a slang term for fancy, expensive jewelry and accessories. You might aim to impress on the first day of school by wearing a lot of bling. There's an implication in the very term bling that not only do you have flashy chains and watches, but you want to show them off. The word itself comes from the idea that light glinting off gold or diamonds would make a bling-like sound if you could hear it. Both bling and bling-bling are US rap slang which gained mainstream popularity around the mid-1990s.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But the Hotline Bling star didn't exactly welcome his old friend back with open arms.
From BBC • Nov. 4, 2024
"I need to focus on my health, first and foremost — and I'll talk about that soon enough," said the Hotline Bling rapper.
From BBC • Oct. 6, 2023
Obviously your name became synonymous with the word “ringleader” over the years when it came to the Bling Ring.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 29, 2023
And I think that in the interviews that came after, about the Bling Ring, there was this tremendous need and push to label Rachel as “the ringleader.”
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 29, 2023
The boy pointed, trying to speak, "Bling Mist' Donal back," he gulped.
From The Second Latchkey by Williamson, A. M. (Alice Muriel)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
