clang
Americanverb (used without object)
verb (used with object)
noun
verb
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to make or cause to make a loud resounding noise, as metal when struck
-
(intr) to move or operate making such a sound
noun
-
a resounding metallic noise
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the harsh cry of certain birds
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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clangsimple
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clangssimple
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have clangedperfect
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has clangedperfect
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am clangingprogressive
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are clangingprogressive
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is clangingprogressive
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have been clangingperfect progressive
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has been clangingperfect progressive
Past
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clangedsimple
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had clangedperfect
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was clangingprogressive
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were clangingprogressive
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had been clangingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of clang
First recorded in 1570–80, clang is from the Latin word clangere to resound, clang
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:
The pink, mouse-like creatures lived in craters covered by dustbin lids - the lids' noisy "clang" gave the show its name.
From BBC ● Apr. 2, 2026
In a clip posted on Instagram, the German relay team are jumping up and down in celebration when suddenly Strelow's bronze medal comes loose and a metallic clang echoes through the room.
From Barron's ● Feb. 9, 2026
Bee Wilson’s own painful memories were triggered by the clang of a heart-shaped baking tin falling to the floor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 21, 2025
The first American pope has been a font of endless, odd connections to the New World that clang against the public perception of the ancient Catholic Church.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2025
And thereupon the door of the Black Gate was thrown open with a great clang, and out of it there came an embassy from the Dark Tower.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
She often prepares athletes to weather the gauntlet of “firsts” — the first shot that clangs, the first whistle, the first crowd cheer — without expecting much beyond survival.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2025
Back at the centrifuge, it slows to a stop and the door clangs open.
From BBC ● May 8, 2024
Smith complements the suffocating visuals with an elaborate sound design involving an anxiety-inducing assortment of squeaks, gurgles, moans, whispers, whimpers and clangs that make “Tin Can” well worth watching with headphones.
From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2022
It’s a fun, loose record stuffed with twisting and vibrating electronics that shifts tonally from pop-heavy melodies to erratic heavy clangs, as Smith’s voice wriggles around from gargled snarl to smoothed-out croon.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 25, 2020
Fierce, I push against the desk; my chair bangs, clangs to the floor.
From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Pots clanged and oil sizzled inside the London kitchen of Syrian chef Imad Alarnab, as the former refugee who fled his country's civil war recalled hosting King Charles III.
From Barron's ● Mar. 2, 2026
When the ball clanged off the bright yellow pole, Judge raised his right hand toward the sky and tossed his bat to the ground, as bedlam erupted all around him.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2025
Loyd’s chance with 2 seconds left clanged wide and the teams regrouped before overtime.
From Seattle Times ● May 17, 2024
At this my internal alarm bells clanged furiously enough to make me hit the pause button.
From Salon ● Nov. 11, 2023
Dropped on the hut’s concrete floor, they clanged and clattered like leg-shaped drums.
From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge
The ship lacks the usual clanging metal rigging of a modern sailboat, so the two-hour, $80 journey was nearly silent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Yet, Fire Island as a concept produces nothing more than a toy monkey clanging its cymbals in my brain.
From Salon ● Jun. 18, 2026
In a room filled with pounding noises and clanging cowbells, L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2026
The closing number, “Match-Lit,” features a moody production with a clanging snare drum and bits of pedal-steel guitar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2025
In each room, peoples are painting or cleaning or ham- mering, and there is much clanging and banging and whooping.
From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech
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.
