hong

[ hong ]

/ hɒŋ /

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noun

(in China) a group of rooms or buildings forming a warehouse, factory, etc.

one of the factories under foreign ownership formerly maintained at Canton.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of hong

1720–30; <dialectal Chinese (Guangdong) hòhng, equivalent to Chinese háng row of shops

Words nearby hong

honeysuckle ornament, honey-sweet, honey trap, honey wagon, honeywort, hong, hongi, Hong Kong, Hong Kongese, Hongshui He, Hongwu

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hong in a sentence

Veterinarians from the park and Hong Kong’s Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department decided to put the panda to death on Thursday morning.
An An, the World’s Longest-Living Male Giant Panda In Captivity, Has Died|Chad de Guzman|July 21, 2022|Time
Leung studies ocean pollution at City University of Hong Kong.
Clothes dryers may be a major source of airborne microplastics|Katie Grace Carpenter|February 11, 2022|Science News For Students
While these may seem tiny numbers compared with the worst days in New York or London, when new cases were in the tens of thousands, Hong Kong’s approach has involved keeping cases as low as possible.
Hong Kong’s omicron wave is rewinding the city back to the start of the pandemic|Mary Hui|February 9, 2022|Quartz
For nearly a quarter of a century, the University of Hong Kong was home to a slim sculpture, 26 ft tall.
RIP, Hong Kong’s Tiananmen sculpture|Tripti Lahiri|December 23, 2021|Quartz

After months of debate over what to do with the Pillar of Shame, a statue commemorating the victims of the Tiananmen Square massacre on the campus of the University of Hong Kong, workers arrived in the middle of the night—dismantling and removing it.
How Hong Kong Is Dismantling the Memory of the Tiananmen Square Massacre|Amy Gunia|December 23, 2021|Time
HONG KONG—Last year, I met a Chinese graduate student on a tour of the northeastern United States before his first day at Harvard.
China’s Internet Is Freer Than You Think|Brendon Hong|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Memes that ridiculed political leaders and the Hong Kong Police Force shot through fiber optic cables at light speed.
China’s Internet Is Freer Than You Think|Brendon Hong|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The past two months have been a war of attrition between the Hong Kong government and pro-democracy protestors.
The Monuments Men of Occupy Hong Kong|Brendon Hong|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What convinced you to make the trip to Hong Kong to first meet Snowden?
Laura Poitras on Snowden's Unrevealed Secrets|Marlow Stern|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I stayed longer in Hong Kong than Glenn and Ewen, and was hoping to film Snowden one more time where he was hiding out.
Laura Poitras on Snowden's Unrevealed Secrets|Marlow Stern|December 1, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The foster-father, who was an American resident in Hong-Kong, found his eyesight gradually failing him.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
The most important piece of intelligence from Hong-Kong is the continuation of the fearful mortality among the British troops.
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, No. VII, December 1850, Vol. II|Various
A few days were thus pleasantly spent; I then returned to duty at Hong-Kong.
Recollections of Thirty-nine Years in the Army|Charles Alexander Gordon
And the women with children strapped on their backs while they steer boats and handle passengers and traffic about Hong Kong!
Where Half The World Is Waking Up|Clarence Poe
She was quite used to the dancing-girls at Calcutta, and when they were at Hong Kong or other ports.
A Little Girl in Old Salem|Amanda Minnie Douglas

British Dictionary definitions for hong

hong

/ (hɒŋ) /

noun

(in China) a factory, warehouse, etc

(formerly, in Canton) a foreign commercial establishment

Word Origin for hong

C18: from Chinese (Cantonese dialect)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012