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pong

American  
[pong, pawng] / pɒŋ, pɔŋ /

noun

  • pongs
    plural
  1. an unpleasant smell; stink.


verb (used without object)

  • pongs,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • ponged,
    past participle,  past
  • ponging
    present participle
  1. to have a disagreeable smell; stink.

pong British  
/ pɒŋ /

noun

  1. a disagreeable or offensive smell; stink

"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

verb

  1. (intr) to give off an unpleasant smell; stink

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of pong

First recorded in 1915–20; of obscure origin

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:

Lu - the 64-year-old president of the American Changle Association, a Chinese community group - argued he was simply trying to help people renew driver's licenses and facilitate social activities like mahjong and ping pong.

From BBC May 16, 2026

A vintage magazine ad boasts of the studio’s high-end gear as well as its “large screen video lounge” and “a playroom with pong, pinball and bumper pool.”

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 27, 2026

“Then you’d react to that and then you have the ping pong back and forth. It made it very vibrant and fun.”

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 10, 2026

Chalamet’s marketing deck is full of outrageous, sky-high ideas, like an orange blimp that drops ping pong balls as it sails over Los Angeles.

From Salon Dec. 25, 2025

I’ll hear the pong of tennis balls, the bark of goldens, the echo of my breath in a snorkel.

From "We Were Liars" by E. Lockhart

The next volley pongs off my racket and lands just in front of the base of the glass wall, making it difficult for my opponent to return.

From Los Angeles Times Mar. 27, 2025

“It typically ping pongs back and forth, in general, from one to neutral to the other and back,” Weather Service meteorologist Dave Groenert told McClatchy News.

From Seattle Times May 9, 2023

Give the gift of pongs and chows, only with pangolins, sea nettles and Mandarin ducks.

From Seattle Times Oct. 19, 2020

"Ping has been ponged" said one long standing Lords watcher - a reference to what is known as 'ping pong' when a bill is repeatedly sent from the Commons to the Lords and back again.

From BBC Jul. 18, 2023

“They’ve kind of been ping ponging responsibilities back and forth, but we haven’t been able to get any real information,” said Manteca.

From Seattle Times Nov. 18, 2023

And they do not yet think it has reached its "ponging peak", but said that should be "any time soon".

From BBC Oct. 28, 2022

And that’s how the interview continued: me pinging a question to Janet, she ponging it to Jackson, he pinging it back to the microphone.

From The Guardian Feb. 4, 2016

More mindless pinging and ponging, and what happens?

From BBC Feb. 14, 2010

I can hear the ponging of jugs—and he hurls up a couple of them up.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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