Jump To:

• fang
  fang

  noun

  one of the long, sharp, hollow or grooved teeth of a venomous snake by which poison is injected.
• Fang
  Fang

  noun

  a member of an Indigenous people of Gabon, Cameroon, and adjacent areas.

fang

¹ American  

[fang] / fæŋ /

noun

• fangs
  plural

1. one of the long, sharp, hollow or grooved teeth of a venomous snake by which poison is injected.

2. a canine tooth.

3. a tooth resembling a dog's.

4. the root of a tooth.

5. one of the chelicerae of a spider.

6. a pointed, tapering part of a thing.

7. Machinery. the tang of a tool.

---

fang ² American  

[fang] / fæŋ /

verb (used with object)

British Dialect.

1. to seize; grab.

---

Fang ³ American  

[fang, fahng, fahn] / fæŋ, fɑŋ, fɑ̃ /

Also Fan

noun

• Fangs,
  plural
• Fang
  plural

1. Also called Pahouin, Pangwe. a member of an Indigenous people of Gabon, Cameroon, and adjacent areas.

2. the Bantu language spoken by this people.

---

fang ¹ British  

/ fæŋ /

noun

1. the long pointed hollow or grooved tooth of a venomous snake through which venom is injected

2. any large pointed tooth, esp the canine or carnassial tooth of a carnivorous mammal

3. the root of a tooth

4. informal (usually plural) tooth

   clean your fangs

---

fang ² British  

/ fæŋ /

verb

1. to drive at great speed

---

noun

1. an act or instance of driving in such a way

   we took the car for a fang

Fang ³ British  

/ fæŋ, fɑːŋ /

noun

1. 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

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Bantu group of the Niger-Congo family

---

fang Scientific  

/ făng /

1. A long, pointed tooth in vertebrate animals or a similar structure in spiders, used to seize prey and sometimes to inject venom. The fangs of a poisonous snake, for example, have a hollow groove through which venom flows.

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• fanged
  adjective
• fangless
  adjective
• fanglike
  adjective
• unfanged
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Fang
  plural
• Fangs
  plural
• fangs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fang¹

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

Origin of fang²

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

Explanation

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fang Fang Fangs fangs

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

Ms. Flowers’s grills include eight bottom teeth and her right upper fang in white gold perms, an opal on the right side and a red rose across her right front tooth.

From New York Times ● Jan. 27, 2022

He imagined himself as a dentist, removing that gold tooth, pocketing it, and refitting Mr. Trepid with something else, maybe something red, maybe plastic, shaped like a fang.

From "Ruby Holler" by Sharon Creech

The KMT high command’s directive was for Fang to hold Hengyang for at least two weeks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

“The final passed version reflects a compromise,” said Fang.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

In the past couple of years, Fang had sought to leave China for a senior position at the World Bank in Washington, the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

For Fang Zhenghua, the art director behind Wu and Unitree's AGT performances, training a robot to dance resembles "creating a soul".

From Barron's

Both Fang and I stared stunned from our spot on the floor.

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

North Carolina's Bat Fangs even had a theme song — "Fangs Out," which, said leader and guitar ace Betsy Wright, is "silly, just go with it."

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 18, 2018

War on Women with Bat Fangs and We Were Black Clouds Rock & Roll Hotel celebrates its 11th anniversary with Baltimore’s coed feminist hardcore punk band.

From Washington Post ● Aug. 22, 2017

Fangs — forcipules, yes, not fangs — must deliver a weak toxin.

From Nature ● Apr. 5, 2016

“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

When she rebuffs him by calling him an animal, he smiles widely, showcasing fangs one could rightly describe as gorgeous, and coos, “We are all animals, my lady.”

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026

These structures represent an early form of chelicerae and provide evidence of the evolutionary beginnings of the pincers and fangs seen in chelicerates today.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026

Here are 17 fun facts to sink your vampire fangs into ahead of the Academy Awards this Sunday.

From BBC ● Mar. 12, 2026

The actor responds with a grin that shows off his fangs.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2026

“And the fangs of these serpents—unlike those of the pit-vipers—are too short to penetrate good leather.”

From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple

Related Words

• fingernail
• paw
• tentacle