bung
1 Americanverb (used with object)
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to beat; bruise; maul (often followed byup ).
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British Slang. to throw or shove carelessly or violently; sling.
noun
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a stopper, esp of cork or rubber, for a cask, piece of laboratory glassware, etc
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short for bunghole
verb
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(often foll by up) to close or seal with or as with a bung
the car's exhaust was bunged up with mud
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slang to throw; sling
adjective
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useless
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to fail or collapse
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to die
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noun
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a gratuity; tip
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a bribe
verb
Etymology
Origin of bung1
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English bunge “bung, bunghole,” from Middle Dutch bong(h)e “stopper”
Origin of bung2
First recorded in 1840–50; perhaps from Waga (an Australian Aboriginal language spoken around Kingaroy, southern Queensland) bongī “dead”
Origin of bung3
First recorded in 1815–25; originally Scots variant of bang 1
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.
"A massive untargeted bung would cost people in different ways," is how one government figure put it.
From BBC ● May 21, 2026
Lemish, like Kramer, is a diva, always ready to pull the bung from his emotions.
From New York Times ● Jan. 6, 2020
Don’t bung them in with all your other laundry, that’s how they get irrevocably separated and, despite best intentions, post-wash pairing just doesn’t happen.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 21, 2019
They never knocked the bung out of the beer keg or danced a polka.
From Washington Post ● May 20, 2019
With trembling lips she said, “And even if we had found the bung, we’d never’ve took it out! It was just a joke. We wouldn’t’ ve sunk it, never!”
From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
