bangle
Americannoun
-
bangles
plural
noun
-
a bracelet, usually without a clasp, often worn high up round the arm or sometimes round the ankle
-
a disc or charm hanging from a bracelet, necklace, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of bangle
1780–90; < Hindi banglī, variant of bangrī glass ring, armlet
Explanation
A bangle is an inflexible but loose-fitting bracelet, worn alone or with many other bangles, on your wrist. Bollywood dancers are often outfitted with many gold bangles. A bangle is generally made out of some hard material like gold, silver, wood, plastic, or ivory. In most parts of South Asia, bangles are very commonly worn by women — there are special bangles that a bride, for example, traditionally wears at her wedding. In Hinduism, it's actually considered bad luck for a bride not to wear bangles. The root of bangle is the Hindi word bangri, "colored glass bracelet or anklet."
Vocabulary lists containing bangle
The Skin I'm In
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The Bridge Home
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The Night Diary
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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.
See Examples For:
Other gold objects found at the site include beads, bangle bracelets, and animal figurines.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
Çedouze’s signature look: oversized workwear, hoodies, T-shirts and tank tops accentuated with large silver grommets the size of a bangle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2022
“No Normal” does underscore how Kamala has been changing, though — evolving and growing more and more capable of taking on the increasingly dangerous challenges that come with wearing her family’s bangle.
From The Verge ● Jul. 14, 2022
But in the show, Kamala gets her powers from a mysterious bangle that belonged to her great-grandmother Aisha, who disappeared during the partition.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2022
She wears a different ring on each finger—even her thumbs—and about fifty gold bangle bracelets on her arms; they rattle as she plays.
From "Blended" by Sharon M. Draper
Silva wore a long sequined gold dress with a halter neckline paired with bangles and gold pumps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Zhao, a woman sporting an intricately carved gold medallion on a necklace of jade beads and shimmering bangles on her wrist, brought her late grandfather's ring to the recycling machine.
From Barron's ● Feb. 1, 2026
People were shopping as usual Tuesday, with women buying bangles, jewelry and clothes for themselves and their children.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 9, 2024
“I’m just as happy to wear bangles that cost me three dollars as I am to wear valuable pieces,” she wrote in her book, “Iris Apfel: Accidental Icon.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2024
Her gold bangles from her wedding dowry, the ones she never removed because they were her most valuable possessions, clinked against her arms when she touched me.
From "Amal Unbound" by Aisha Saeed
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
