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bash
[ bash ]
verb (used with object)
- to strike with a crushing or smashing blow.
- Chiefly British, Canadian. to hurl harsh verbal abuse at.
noun
- a crushing blow.
- Informal. a thoroughly enjoyable, lively party.
bash
/ bæʃ /
verb
- tr to strike violently or crushingly
- tr; often foll by in, down, etc to smash, break, etc, with a crashing blow
to bash a door down
- intrfoll byinto to crash (into); collide (with)
to bash into a lamppost
- to dent or be dented
this cover won't bash easily
this tin is bashed
noun
- a heavy blow, as from a fist
- a dent; indentation
- a party
- have a bash informal.to make an attempt
Other Words From
- basher noun
Word History and Origins
Origin of bash1
Word History and Origins
Origin of bash1
Idioms and Phrases
- have a bash (at), British. to attempt; make an attempt.
- on the bash, British. working as a prostitute.
Example Sentences
The other schools that have fared worst in BASH also make sense.
Summer is in full effect, which means barbecues, bashes, and begging for an end to the global pandemic.
Like a freshman invited to a senior bash, the Friends members want the party to last — even if the host group hardly notices them.
The best example of that passion came when a Facebook posting about a supposed June 24 Limelight reopening bash prompted a frenzy, only to have the organizers cancel the event.
Tye celebrated her 30th birthday with a picnic instead of the big bash she had planned.
For weeks preceding the bash, Hitch refuses to have anything to do with it.
Another Dem who has been just a heart-beat (or a lamp bash) away from being president.
Just look at the rhetoric used by angry 1970s rock fans to bash disco.
Kadyrov had organized another big party last weekend, even before the Putin birthday bash.
Rapper The Game was also in attendance at that bash, as well as Jessica Alba, Eddie Murphy, and Paris Hilton, among others.
Mother: "I don't care wot yer do so long as yer don't bash 'er abaht the 'ead."
Next morning, when Bash Tchelik left the cave, the prince came and learned the secret from his wife.
So perished Bash Tchelik, and thus did the prince finally regain his beloved and loyal wife.
The prince thankfully took the feather and started once more in pursuit of Bash Tchelik.
Thereupon Bash Tchelik disappeared with the princess, and her husband remained to wonder what he should do next.
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Related Words
About This Word
What does bash mean?
Bash means “to strike” something with great force. It’s been adopted as slang for hurling insults or verbal abuse at someone.
A bash is also an older slang term for “a wild party.”
Where did bash come from?
Dating back to the 1600s, the simple verb bash is “to hit something with force.” It’s equivalent with the words strike and beat.
The use of bash for “a wild party” appears as slang by at least the 1940s.
Bash, for “to insult or verbally abuse,” emerged by the 1950s out of the original “striking” sense of the verb (i.e., hurling very harsh, even hateful criticism). One historic instance is queer-bashing, or slurring the LGBTQ community. Use of this bashing saw even more use due to cyberbullying, trolling, and internet comment culture.
What about the bash- in bashful, meaning “shy” or “timid”? The bash- in bashful actually comes from a shortened form of abash, “to make ashamed or embarrassed.” Abash is related to the word abase, and the verb bash likely imitates the sound of bashing or is influenced by words like bang, smash, and dash.
Who uses bash?
Bashing, for “violent blows,” is frequently used in expressions like bash one’s head against a wall or keyboard. Expect to see this when someone’s in the pique of anger or frustration.
Bash, for “insult,” is used in speech, writing, and social media. Expect to see this bash when someone (or the internet hive mind) is bashing a celebrity, product, or some other cultural phenomenon they dislike: He bashed Samsung’s new phone … or Twitter bashed Facebook’s corporate apology about hacking. A basher (e.g., anime-basher) is not unlike a troll or hater. Bashing, as in the general practice of insulting something, is common, too. For instance: Quit bashing on the new gamers in the forum.
Promote what you love, don't bash what you hate.
— Define YOUR Grind (@DefineYourGrind) July 15, 2014
As mentioned, bash was once slang for a lively party. It’s still seen in phrases like birthday bash.
More examples of bash:
“As BuzzFeed News points out, things turned chaotic when people began catching wind of the plot. In response, Venom fans fired back with their own bad takes and memes bashing A Star Is Born.”
—Sarah Jasmine Montgomery, Complex, October 2018
Note
This content is not meant to be a formal definition of this term. Rather, it is an informal summary that seeks to provide supplemental information and context important to know or keep in mind about the term’s history, meaning, and usage.
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.
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