pang
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of pang
First recorded in 1495–1505; origin uncertain
Explanation
A pang is a sharp jab or an intense hurt that comes on suddenly. If you've felt an all-of-a-sudden, deep sadness that seems to hit you even in the back of the eyes, you've probably had a pang of emotion over a loss or a tragic story. You can feel a physical pain or pang right when you get hurt, or you might suffer a pang of guilt that keeps popping up if you don't own up to something bad. Pang sounds close to pain, and it is pain, but it has a sharper edge — it's intense and comes on fast. A childbirth pain often is called a pang, because it's such a unique type of hurting. Having a pang of regret can be almost as sharp.
Vocabulary lists containing pang
Where the Red Fern Grows
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Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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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:
When he passed away, I got a pang of sadness.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
"In the initial weeks, I had this really strange pang of wanting to go back. Because it was something I understood," Gershkovich recalled.
From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026
A pang of guilt ripped through me: Had I compromised a source?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
I’m relieved, yet hit with a pang of guilt.
From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2026
I’m about to say something sarcastic, but a pang of grief hits me in my core.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
How do you deal with those inevitable pangs?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Sam hopes to attract those who, like himself, felt the pangs of an infamous monster collecting game when using Merlin to ID and save their bird sightings.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
If the reader starts to feel pangs of resentment about this laundry list of expectations — well, we’re reminded that marriage is hard for a man too.
From Salon ● May 8, 2026
The book cover trend, imbued with nostalgia for childhood, promises fiction that grapples with the pangs of adulthood in an age of precarity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026
I feel that I’m lucky to be alive to write novels today, when the whole world is caught in the pangs of war and change.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
