bang-up

American

[bang-uhp] / ˈbæŋˌʌp /

adjective

Informal.

excellent; extraordinary.

bang up British

verb

slang:prison (tr, adverb) to lock up (a prisoner) in his or her cell, esp for the night

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

bang up Idioms

Damage, injure, as in Banging up the car a second time will make Dad very unhappy, or Mother fell down the stairs and was all banged up. The verb to bang alone had this meaning from the 1500s on, up being added in the late 1800s. In the early 1800s it gave rise to the colloquial adjective bang-up, for excellent or very successful, as in David did a bang-up job baking the birthday cake.

Etymology

Origin of bang-up

First recorded in 1800–10; adj. use of verb phrase bang up

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.

And the stock’s bang-up trading open shows that it wasn’t only the big institutional money granted early access to the IPO that wanted a piece.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 24, 2026

Taylor’s downtown dealership did a bang-up business with Christian churchgoers because his ads vowed, “No Sunday selling.”

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 30, 2023

Carlson doesn't really have arguments or evidence, but he does do a bang-up impression of someone sarcastically brushing aside nonsense.

From Salon • Feb. 6, 2023

The Old Prioress, who precedes Lidoine as the order’s Mother Superior, comes to a grisly end early in the opera, with a bang-up death scene that some singers approach with Meryl Streep-like meticulousness.

From New York Times • Jan. 16, 2023

“You know, Kyle,” said his dad, looking at his mother, who nodded, “since you worked extra hard and did such a bang-up job on your essay, I think we might consider suspending your punishment.”

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023