twang
Americanverb (used without object)
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twangs,
present (3rd person singular)
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twanged,
past participle, past
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twanging
present participle
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to give out a sharp, vibrating sound, as the string of a musical instrument when plucked.
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to produce such a sound by plucking a stringed musical instrument.
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to have or produce a sharp, nasal tone, as the human voice.
verb (used with object)
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twangs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
twanged,
past participle, past
-
twanging
present participle
-
to cause to make a sharp, vibrating sound, as a string of a musical instrument.
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to produce (music) by plucking the strings of a musical instrument.
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to pluck the strings of (a musical instrument).
to twang a guitar.
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to speak with a sharp, nasal tone.
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to pull the string of (an archer's bow).
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to let fly (an arrow).
noun
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the sharp, ringing sound produced by plucking or suddenly releasing a tense string.
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a sound resembling this.
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an act of plucking or picking.
He gave his guitar strings a twang.
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a sharp, nasal tone, as of the human voice.
noun
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a sharp ringing sound produced by or as if by the plucking of a taut string
the twang of a guitar
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the act of plucking a string to produce such a sound
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a strongly nasal quality in a person's speech, esp in certain dialects
verb
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to make or cause to make a twang
to twang a guitar
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to strum (music, a tune, etc)
to twang on a guitar
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to speak or utter with a sharp nasal voice
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(intr) to be released or move with a twang
the arrow twanged away
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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twangsimple
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twangssimple
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have twangedperfect
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has twangedperfect
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am twangingprogressive
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are twangingprogressive
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is twangingprogressive
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have been twangingperfect progressive
-
has been twangingperfect progressive
Past
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twangedsimple
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had twangedperfect
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was twangingprogressive
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were twangingprogressive
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had been twangingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of twang
First recorded in 1535–45; imitative
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 does speak, his words carry a faint Southern twang from his upbringing in Alabama.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 29, 2026
“And I did my Rogue voice, which is basically just my own, but with a bit of a Southern accent thrown on,” she adds with a slight twang.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
On the one hand, his vocal stylings are well-suited to affect a slightly country twang — by way of Liverpool, of course.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2026
Wearing cowboy boots and a handlebar mustache, he had a Texas twang and a quiet, calm presence that disarmed suspects, eliciting confessions.
From Slate ● Apr. 6, 2026
The twang of the guitar grows louder, and the echo lessens.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
Heard in the warm, Americana twangs that complete “Kansas Anymore,” these sounds are an ode to his upbringing in Cape Elizabeth, Maine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025
“I think if you can pick up your dog with one hand,” Peanut twangs, “you own a cat.”
From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2023
The ball twangs over the bar for another corner.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 19, 2022
But the animated Disney series’ title tune is the undisputed perfect match: his little shoulders pop at all the right bass twangs, and when the scissors speed up, so do his moves.
From The Verge ● Dec. 27, 2018
Then came hooves and the twangs of bows, and arrows were suddenly falling amongst the Death Eaters, who broke ranks, shouting their surprise.
From "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" by J.K. Rowling
He added: "I ambitiously broke into a sprint, then that leg twanged and the other leg twanged and I knew something had gone seriously wrong with my hamstrings."
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2023
With “Old Town Road,” Lil Nas X twanged country tropes over a trap beat, kicked off a yee-haw agenda and launched a pop career off the back of a novelty hit.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 26, 2022
But things went from bad to worse when Sánchez’s right hamstring twanged in the 59th minute.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 29, 2015
A transistor radio twanged on a seawall where a Hawaiian family picnicked on the sand.
From The New Yorker ● May 25, 2015
I plucked at the snare’s tight rope, and it twanged like a guitar string.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
Over a pleasantly discordant score of dreamy electronic chords and twanging banjos, Matthew finds pencil marks charting his growth as a child while these parents fuss over their own new baby.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2025
But his take on the character, informed by his deep soccer fandom, came to dictate much of how the character was written, he explained, right down to jokes that hinge on Dunster’s twanging accent.
From New York Times ● May 31, 2023
Ball, who is remembered in a statue in the Lancashire town of Lytham where he lived for more than 20 years, was famous for twanging his braces on stage, while saying: "Rock on, Tommy."
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2022
What comes next is the kind of thing that works, as Jesús launches into the defiant tune “Born in Laredo,” driven by a twanging, sidewinding guitar.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 13, 2019
“I’ve got a musical message to deliver to ’Arry Potter in person,” he said, twanging his harp in a threatening sort of way.
From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling
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.
