bangle
Americannoun
-
bangles
plural
noun
-
a bracelet, usually without a clasp, often worn high up round the arm or sometimes round the ankle
-
a disc or charm hanging from a bracelet, necklace, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of bangle
1780–90; < Hindi banglī, variant of bangrī glass ring, armlet
Explanation
A bangle is an inflexible but loose-fitting bracelet, worn alone or with many other bangles, on your wrist. Bollywood dancers are often outfitted with many gold bangles. A bangle is generally made out of some hard material like gold, silver, wood, plastic, or ivory. In most parts of South Asia, bangles are very commonly worn by women — there are special bangles that a bride, for example, traditionally wears at her wedding. In Hinduism, it's actually considered bad luck for a bride not to wear bangles. The root of bangle is the Hindi word bangri, "colored glass bracelet or anklet."
Vocabulary lists containing bangle
The Skin I'm In
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The Bridge Home
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The Night Diary
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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.
See Examples For:
As Betty Boop became more popular, Natwick revised his design to swap the character’s floppy dog’s ears for bangle earrings and shrinking her nose.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Other gold objects found at the site include beads, bangle bracelets, and animal figurines.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
“No Normal” does underscore how Kamala has been changing, though — evolving and growing more and more capable of taking on the increasingly dangerous challenges that come with wearing her family’s bangle.
From The Verge ● Jul. 14, 2022
But in the show, Kamala gets her powers from a mysterious bangle that belonged to her great-grandmother Aisha, who disappeared during the partition.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2022
“Exit here and head east on Fillmore . . .” I obsessed on the subject until the bangle on my wrist felt like an iron shackle from some medieval dungeon.
From "Schooled" by Gordon Korman
Artist Elizabeth Joseph, known for making miniature furniture, was dressed head to toe in crochet and even had huge crochet bangles on her arm and a crocheted ring.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
Silva wore a long sequined gold dress with a halter neckline paired with bangles and gold pumps.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
The next day, as devotees cry in mourning for his death, the thread and their wrist bangles are cut.
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
People were shopping as usual Tuesday, with women buying bangles, jewelry and clothes for themselves and their children.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 9, 2024
We walked beneath a huge billboard with a larger-than-life picture of a woman decked in gold jewelry—not just bangles and necklaces and earrings and nose rings, but even golden hair clips.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
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.
