bung
noun · verb · adjective
Simple meaning
A stopper, alternative to a cork, often made of rubber, used to prevent fluid passing through the neck of a bottle.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
buhngIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈbʌŋ
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A stopper, alternative to a cork, often made of rubber, used to prevent fluid passing through the neck of a bottle, vat, a hole in a vessel etc.
The orifice in the bilge of a cask through which it is filled; bung-hole.
verb
transitive
To pass a bribe to (someone).
UKAustraliatransitiveinformal
To put, throw, or place something without care; to chuck.
transitive
To batter, bruise; to cause to bulge or swell.
transitive
To plug, as with a bung.
adjective
AustraliaNew Zealandslang
Broken, not in working order; damaged; injured.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- C2 · Proficient (estimated)
- Frequency
- Rare
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A stopper, alternative to a cork, often made of rubber, used to prevent fluid passing through the neck of a bottle, vat, a hole in a vessel etc.
Used this way, bung is a specialist word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a nautical use: it is standard at sea and largely unfamiliar ashore.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Specialist/technical
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Specialized
- Connotation
- Clinical and technical
- Usage feel
- Technical and specialized
Where it naturally appears
- Sailing/maritime
- Technical/specialist writing
Usage note
In general conversation this sense usually needs explaining — outside its field, people reach for a plainer word.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.