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• tang
  tang

  noun

  a strong taste or flavor.
• T'ang
  T'ang

  noun

  a dynasty in China, a.d. 618–907, marked by territorial expansion, the invention of printing, and the high development of poetry.
• Tang
  Tang

  noun

  the imperial dynasty of China from 618–907 _ad

tang

¹ American  

[tang] / tæŋ /

noun

1. 

   a strong taste or flavor.

   Synonyms:

   savor

2. the distinctive flavor or quality of a thing.

3. a pungent or distinctive odor.

4. a touch or suggestion of something; slight trace.

   Synonyms:

   hint, taste

5. a long and slender projecting strip, tongue, or prong forming part of an object, as a chisel, file, or knife, and serving as a means of attachment for another part, as a handle or stock.

6. a surgeonfish.

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verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with a tang.

tang ² American  

[tang] / tæŋ /

noun

1. a sharp ringing or twanging sound; clang.

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verb (used with or without object)

1. to ring or twang; clang.

T'ang ³ American  

[tahng] / tɑŋ /

Or Tang

noun

1. a dynasty in China, a.d. 618–907, marked by territorial expansion, the invention of printing, and the high development of poetry.

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tang ¹ British  

/ tæŋ /

noun

1. a strong taste or flavour

   the tang of the sea

2. a pungent or characteristic smell

   the tang of peat fires

3. a trace, touch, or hint of something

   a tang of cloves in the apple pie

4. the pointed end of a tool, such as a chisel, file, knife, etc, which is fitted into a handle, shaft, or stock

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Tang ² British  

/ tæŋ /

noun

1. the imperial dynasty of China from 618–907 _ad

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Etymology

Origin of tang¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English tange “tongue of a snake, projection on a tool,” perhaps from Old Norse tangi “projection, headland, tang of a blade”

Origin of tang²

First recorded in 1660–70; imitative; see ting ¹

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Explanation

A tang is a sharp flavor or smell, like the tang of fresh-squeezed lemonade or the tang of the salty ocean breeze. When you eat something sour, you taste a tang, like the tang of blue cheese or vinegar in your salad. Although it's no longer available today, Tang was also the name of a tangy, sugary orange drink that was especially popular in the 1960s and 70s. From a root word meaning "to bite," tang's original meaning was "serpent's tongue."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

tang T'ang Tang

So the Caesar-ish dressing here is intentionally concentrated: cream cheese for body, Kewpie for tang and richness, and a dab of white miso for the salty, fermented funk that anchovy ordinarily brings to Caesar.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

At Glidden, the first stop on my trip, the oysters had the umami tang of chicken soup.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 29, 2026

“You won’t miss the statue,” the clerk said, the slightest tang of exasperation in his tone.

From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026

The citric acid that adds tang to sugary drinks and the silica that gives toothpaste its grit are made with it, too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026

The smell of wet earth comes to me from those thumbed and tattered pages, the sour tang of moorland peat, the feel of soggy moss spattered white in places by a heron’s droppings.

From "Rebecca" by Daphne du Maurier

From the hand-painted cards of T’ang Dynasty China to paper-and-plastic Pokémon trading cards, the history of playing cards spans cultures, epochs, and continents.

From National Geographic ● Nov. 3, 2023

References to “domino cards” existed as early as the T’ang Dynasty, which lasted from 618-907 AD.

From National Geographic ● Nov. 3, 2023

By the time the Pekingese had become a proper breed during the T’ang dynasty, only the Chinese imperial family was allowed to keep them.

From Time ● Feb. 15, 2012

The greatest of them, Tung Yuan, shows in his Dragon Among the Country People the mighty forward leap taken by the Sung artists over their earlier T'ang models.

From Time Magazine Archive

Probably looking at the moon and reciting some poem from the T’ang Dynasty.”

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

This could lead to a sustained recovery in the equity market sometime in 1H27, Tang notes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

“It is a little bit of a black box,” Tang said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 24, 2026

Tang has been freelancing for the past three years.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

Beyond that, the decision becomes more nuanced, according to Tang.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

A moment later we saw plumes of black smoke rise from the Tang people’s town.

From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep

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