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:
And that’s perfectly OK for them, because they won’t suffer a pang of guilt because of their decision, and they won’t actually feel better about accepting the $150 if they give half of it away.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 7, 2026
Though Rachel has restricted her own access to any sort of gambling sites, she does sometimes have the "pang" to go to the slot machine, but then remembers how far she has come.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2026
I’m relieved, yet hit with a pang of guilt.
From Salon ● Mar. 3, 2026
At first, even he felt a momentary pang of caution.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 10, 2026
I remember the last secret I told with a pang.
From "King and the Dragonflies" by Kacen Callender
Audience: Tweens feeling the first pangs of nostalgia at the turn of the millennium.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 17, 2026
Even that comes though with pangs of guilt, wondering whether coming to terms with her childlessness, means she did not want it enough, or try hard enough.
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2026
"We are suffering the pangs of growth because India knows how to handle poverty, not prosperity."
From Barron's ● Nov. 27, 2025
At holidays or graduations or milestone birthdays, we’d joke about phantom hunger pangs, gesturing to the empty spot where the foil tray should’ve been.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2025
The suitors whooped and swung their arms, half dead with pangs of laughter.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
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.
