bung

1 of 2

noun

1
: the stopper especially in the bunghole of a cask
also : bunghole
2
: the cecum or anus especially of a slaughtered animal

bung

2 of 2

verb

bunged; bunging; bungs

transitive verb

1
: to plug with or as if with a bung
2
British : throw sense 1

Examples of bung in a Sentence

Noun thousands of pounds in illegal bungs Verb we had bunged up the moving van so much that we couldn't have possibly squeezed in one more thing
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
This is Boris Johnson, who in 2014, when mayor of London, took a bung (as football coaches would say) of £160,000 from Lubov Chernukhin, whom one scarcely needs to label, so that Mrs. Chernukhin could play a game of tennis with the mayor. Geoffrey Wheatcroft, The New Republic, 13 Mar. 2022 Another side effect, beer farts, might earn you an offer for a bung — the large cork that seals a cask’s bunghole to allow beer to ferment properly. Christian Millman, Discover Magazine, 28 May 2013 Lemish, like Kramer, is a diva, always ready to pull the bung from his emotions. Dwight Garner, New York Times, 6 Jan. 2020 Two grandkids were up by the windshield, crammed in front of blue drums of gas, with gas pooled around the bungs and more tanks in the stern leaking gas. Seth Kantner, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Oct. 2019 Indiana State Fair food Here are 22 new food items coming to the fair: American Hero – A soft bung hosting a meat trio of Virginia ham, salami and pepperoni. Chris Sims, Indianapolis Star, 15 July 2019 Prosecutors allege that Mazzacurati presided over a consortium where the original aim of saving Venice seems to have been forgotten amid bungs to political parties and cronies. Manfred Manera, Newsweek, 18 July 2014 Johnson had removed the drum’s bung, which is like a cap, and car wash polish erupted on the left side of his face, according to the incident report. Rick Barrett, USA TODAY, 20 Dec. 2017 Never apply heat to an empty drum when the caps and bungs aren't removed. jsonline.com, 13 Dec. 2017
Verb
And each subsequent image bunged into the algorithm could be used to lower the overall noise level. WIRED, 19 Mar. 2023 Instead of lubricating profits, however, Canada’s tar sands are bunged-up with protests against new pipelines. The Economist, 27 Feb. 2020 Stuff that today’s parents would get all bunged up about – no bike helmets, no seat belts, roaming free all day through wood and dale with only a dime for emergency calls – were just part of regular ol’ parenting. Jill Hamilton, Orange County Register, 20 Apr. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bung.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Middle Dutch bonne, bonghe

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1589, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of bung was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near bung

Cite this Entry

“Bung.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bung. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

bung

1 of 2 noun
1
: the stopper in the bunghole of a barrel
2

bung

2 of 2 verb
: to plug with or as if with a bung
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