one of the long, sharp, hollow or grooved teeth of a venomous snake by which poison is injected.
a canine tooth.
a tooth resembling a dog's.
the root of a tooth.
one of the chelicerae of a spider.
a pointed, tapering part of a thing.
Machinery. the tang of a tool.
Also called Pahouin, Pangwe. a member of an Indigenous people of Gabon, Cameroon, and adjacent areas.
the Bantu language spoken by this people.
the long pointed hollow or grooved tooth of a venomous snake through which venom is injected
any large pointed tooth, esp the canine or carnassial tooth of a carnivorous mammal
the root of a tooth
informal (usually plural) tooth
clean your fangs
a member of a Negroid people of W Africa, living chiefly in the rain forests of Gabon and Rio Muni: noted for their use of iron and copper money and for their sculpture
the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family
First recorded before 1050; Middle English “prey, purchase, spoils,” Old English: “booty”; cognate with German Fang “capture, booty,” Old Norse fang “a grasp, hold”; see also fang 2
First recorded before 900; Middle English fangen, fengen, earlier and Old English fon “to seize, catch”; cognate with Old Saxon fangan and fahan, German fangen and fahen, Old Icelandic fangan and fá
A fang is a long, sharp tooth that is used to do harm. Vampires have them, venomous snakes have them... you could have them, too, if your Halloween costume includes a set of pointy teeth. The word fang came into English from the Old Norse word fang, meaning “capture, grasp.” It was originally used to describe something that was seized or captured, like loot taken after a battle. Later it meant "something that traps or snares." When you think of a sharp tooth’s ability to snare something, it’s not such a leap to the word’s current meaning: the long, pointy teeth of a predatory animal or a snake — or a vampire.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One of its writers, James Jeremias, was loosely inspired by “Interview,” which may be why Kiefer Sutherland’s rebellious vampire, David, feels spiritually closer to Lestat than the sparkly fang boys of “The Twilight Saga.”
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
Once the swelling subsided, the spider's fang marks could be seen as well as the toxin making his way through his foot.
From BBC ● Nov. 27, 2023
Those are definitely not the hybrids, despite “the fur and fang and fury” that Moreno-Garcia unleashes as justice claws its way through the book’s final pages.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 28, 2022
They also took screenshots of products offered for sale on Facebook, from elephant ivory bracelets and rings trimmed in 14-karat gold to intricate happy buddha ivory carvings, whole rhino horns, and tiger fang pendants.
From National Geographic ● Dec. 18, 2020
Thyon, thirteen years old and sharp as the point of a viper’s fang, had looked around him at the cryptic rituals and philosophies and seen it all as obfuscation cooked up to excuse that failure.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Fang Xinghai, a former star market regulator well regarded in the West, was put under investigation by the Communist Party for alleged “serious violations of discipline and law.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The move against Fang was preceded by warning signs, according to people familiar with the matter.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The suspect was identified as Ziheng “Tony” Fang, 30, of San José, a graduate student pursuing a master’s degree in data science.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
It was led by former UCR postdoctoral researchers Yu Fang and Yahya Al Naggar.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026
It was already late afternoon when Fang handed me a pair of socks and some shoes and asked if I’d mind going to get a paper.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
Though Quickies is mainly fiction – one song is called I Wish I Had Fangs and a Tail – Merritt’s life has still informed it.
From The Guardian ● May 26, 2020
Fangs and skulls seized in Bolivia, as well as 38 fangs confiscated in Lima, Peru, in 2015, could have come from jaguars that were killed recently, or years ago.
From Nature ● Feb. 22, 2018
That April, Needham and Feulner published a Wall Street Journal op-ed titled, “New Fangs for the Conservative ‘Beast.'”
From Washington Post ● Mar. 8, 2016
Fangs for all you never did for me, Mom, says Henry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2014
“The only department that keeps beasts is the Department of Creature Control. Fangs and claws? It must be the predators section, right?”
From "Amari and the Night Brothers" by B.B. Alston
Most British spiders couldn't bite you if they tried; their fangs are too small or weak to penetrate human skin.
From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026
"This is the spider's most vulnerable region since other parts have a lot of chitin, which forms an exoskeleton difficult for the mites' fangs to penetrate," the researcher explains.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 28, 2026
But it’s also a vampire movie, full of fangs, gore and garlic, and it’s there where Mr. Coogler falters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 22, 2026
It’s why she can unabashedly pose wearing fangs or Hello Kitty face paint on her Instagram grid.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2025
The horses snarled and bared their fangs at Annabeth.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
