Dictionary.com
definitions

bung

1
[ buhng ]
/ bʌŋ /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bung ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a stopper for the opening of a cask.
a bunghole.

verb (used with object)

to close with or as if with a bung; cork; plug (often followed by up).

RELATED WORDS

blockade, fire, clog, fill, pack, seal, lob, fling, dangle, hoist, hurl, heave, drop, sling, wedge, spigot, occlusion, connection, cork, filling

Nearby words

  1. bundt,
  2. bundu,
  3. bundwall,
  4. bundy,
  5. bunfight,
  6. bung-hole,
  7. bungaloid,
  8. bungalow,
  9. bungee,
  10. bungee cord

Origin of bung

1
1400–50; late Middle English bunge < Middle Dutch bonge stopper

Definition for bung (2 of 3)

bung

2
[ buhng ]
/ bʌŋ /

adjective Australian.

out of order; broken; unusable.
bankrupt.
Slang. dead.

Origin of bung

2
1840–50; perhaps < Waga (Australian Aboriginal language spoken around Kingaroy, S Queensland) bongī dead

Definition for bung (3 of 3)

bung

3
[ buhng ]
/ bʌŋ /

verb (used with object)

to beat; bruise; maul (often followed by up).
British Slang. to throw or shove carelessly or violently; sling.

Origin of bung

3
1815–25; orig. Scots variant of bang1
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bung

British Dictionary definitions for bung (1 of 3)

bung

1
/ (bʌŋ) /

noun

a stopper, esp of cork or rubber, for a cask, piece of laboratory glassware, etc
short for bunghole

verb (tr)

(often foll by up) to close or seal with or as with a bungthe car's exhaust was bunged up with mud
British and Australian slang to throw; sling

Word Origin for bung

C15: from Middle Dutch bonghe, from Late Latin puncta puncture

British Dictionary definitions for bung (2 of 3)

bung

2
/ (bʌŋ) British slang /

noun

a gratuity; tip
a bribe

verb

bung it on (tr) to behave in a pretentious manner

Word Origin for bung

C16 (originally in the sense: a purse): perhaps from Old English pung, changed over time through the influence of bung 1

British Dictionary definitions for bung (3 of 3)

bung

3
/ (bʌŋ) /

adjective Australian and NZ informal

useless
go bung
  1. to fail or collapse
  2. to die

Word Origin for bung

C19: from a native Australian language
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

Word Origin and History for bung

bung

n.

mid-15c., "large stopper for a cask," from Middle Dutch bonge "stopper;" or perhaps from French bonde "bung, bunghole" (15c.), which may be of Germanic origin (or the Germanic words may be borrowed from Romanic), or it may be from Gaulish *bunda (cf. Old Irish bonn, Gaelic bonn, Welsh bon "base, sole of the foot"). It is possible that either or both of these sources is ultimately from Latin puncta in the sense of "hole." Transferred to the cask-mouth itself (also bung-hole) from 1570s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper