fang
noun
one of the long, sharp, hollow or grooved teeth of a venomous snake by which poison is injected.
fang
1 American
[fang]
/ fæŋ /
noun
-
fangs
plural
-
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.
fang
2
American
[fang]
/ fæŋ /
verb (used with object)
British Dialect.
Fang
3
American
[fang, fahng, fahn ]
/ fæŋ, fɑŋ, fɑ̃ /
Also
Fan
noun
-
Fangs,
plural
-
Fang
plural
-
Also called Pahouin, Pangwe. a member of an Indigenous people of Gabon, Cameroon, and adjacent areas.
-
the Bantu language spoken by this people.
fang
1
British
/ fæŋ /
verb
noun
fang
2
British
/ fæŋ /
noun
-
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
Fang
3
British
/ fæŋ, fɑːŋ /
noun
-
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
fang
Scientific
/ făng /
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing fang
Beowulf vocabulary
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Animals (Zoology) - Introductory
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Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"
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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:
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
"It caught the back of my arm with one fang and the other fang got caught in my polo shirt," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 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
The dirt bites my paws, each stick and rock a fang through my skin.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
“Drones are critical because they directly support Taiwan’s effort to build a more distributed, survivable and asymmetric defense posture,” said Fang.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
“The final passed version reflects a compromise,” said Fang.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The nature of the allegations against Fang couldn’t be determined.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Citing a criminal complaint, the Justice Department said police had identified 20 separate instances of Fang allegedly leaving these messages in bathrooms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
I shrugged her off before Fang, so skinny and pale he looked like he’d just climbed out of a coffin, squeezed into the box-packed back seat and put an end to all conversation.
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
“This is why I’m here. Fangs help them tap into their primal vampire nature. Fangs are magic.”
From New York Times ● Oct. 26, 2018
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
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
“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
Scientists have discovered the earliest known evidence of the structures that eventually became spider fangs in a fossil dating back 518 million years.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 4, 2026
He’s flashed his fangs at chair umpires and once got himself thrown out of a U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
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
To me, a Midwestern kid familiar with winter winds dragging their fangs across her face, Mary’s upright spine and sure gait set an example worth heeding.
From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2026
Rumpy bared his fangs at the smoking-platform and then looked up at Nhamo, who was watching from her shelter.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
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.
