ding

1 of 4

verb (1)

dinged; dinging; dings

intransitive verb

1
: to make a ringing sound : clang
2
: to speak with tiresome reiteration

transitive verb

: to dwell on with tiresome repetition
keeps dinging it into him that the less he smokes the betterSamuel Butler †1902

ding

2 of 4

noun (1)

plural dings
: a sharp ringing sound
heard the ding of the timer

ding

3 of 4

noun (2)

: an instance of minor surface damage (such as a dent)

ding

4 of 4

verb (2)

dinged; dinging; dings

transitive verb

1
informal
a
: to strike or knock against
got dinged on the elbow
b
: to cause minor surface damage to
ding a car door
c
: to do harm to
… has struggled of late to win customers back after reports of a norovirus outbreak … circulated in July, once again dinging the chain's reputation.Sarah Whitten
If they don't hit the mark, their review, pay, and chances at promotion get dinged.Nanette Byrnes et al.
d
: to cause a usually minor injury to
On Jan. 20, Joel Embiid dinged his knee in a game against the Portland Trail Blazers. The ever-cautious Sixers held the big man out of the next two games with what was described as a "left knee contusion."
2
informal : to penalize or criticize
Joseph's time hasn't been without some controversy, including recently when the state dinged the district for starting the year with several administrators not holding Tennessee teaching and administrative licenses.Jason Gonzales
Historical accounts dinged the Cadburys for not doing enough to help with cocoa worker conditions and slavery in Africa.Michael S. Rosenwald

Examples of ding in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The timer also dings loudly, which some users may find irritating. Caroline Thomason, Health, 9 Mar. 2023 Teams may ding Miller for being a 20-year-old freshman, but the Alabama guard's skill as an offensive talent is undeniable. Michael Shapiro, Chron, 19 Jan. 2023 Traditional lenders usually perform a hard inquiry that could ding your credit score. Tanza Loudenback, Fortune, 14 Nov. 2022 Each one of those is bent and the protective rubber is peeling off, just waiting to scratch or ding expensive wheels or other components. The Editors, Outside Online, 4 Nov. 2022 Unlike Caitríona Balfe in Belfast or Michelle Williams in The Fabelmans, Hathaway’s performance as a PTA mom is not concerned with being lovable, though that may ding her in what is, at heart, a high-school popularity contest. Vulture, 28 Oct. 2022 These aren’t quite as simple to load as laying your skis down on a roof rack, but ding your gas mileage less than any other option here. Ryan Wichelns, Popular Mechanics, 28 Dec. 2022 When a store card make sense Applying for too many lines of credit can also ding your credit score, so choose carefully. Megan Cerullo, CBS News, 11 Nov. 2022 The higher rates ding home affordability but also might be holding back home sales. Christine Romans, CNN, 26 Sep. 2022
Noun
Silence the ding of your cell phone and turn on calming music or sounds of nature such as flowing streams or chirping birds. Bethany Thayer, Detroit Free Press, 13 Jan. 2024 The people charged with inspecting it pre-rental aren’t always sticklers for detail, and sometimes miss large scratches and dings. Matt Meltzer, Condé Nast Traveler, 19 Jan. 2024 Because the fill is placed throughout the foot, ankle, and sole, you’ll be fully enveloped in heat immediately after the timer dings. Rena Behar, Travel + Leisure, 10 Jan. 2024 The tempered glass top is compatible with dry-erase markers and also makes the desk easy to clean while preventing staining or dings. Alida Nugent, Peoplemag, 12 Jan. 2024 And there’s no small irony, of course, that this is Slack doing this survey—the same workplace messaging app that lets coworkers contact you at all hours (even if there are good tools to silence that Pavlovian ding). Jena McGregor, Forbes, 11 Dec. 2023 The photos accompanying the listing make clear the car has some dings, but the finish looks to be in remarkably good condition, owing, in no small part, to having spent the last 42 years sheltered from the elements. Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 21 Nov. 2023 Also according to the flight attendants, who have stopped responding to your incessant dings. Alex Watt, The New Yorker, 20 Nov. 2023 Protect your Deck from scratches and dings with a custom-fit screen protector. WIRED, 28 Oct. 2023
Verb
The timer also dings loudly, which some users may find irritating. Caroline Thomason, Health, 9 Mar. 2023 Now on Friday, a Virginia federal judge dinged the site for another $4.8 million for the same infringing behavior, this time from a lawsuit brought by the American Chemical Society. David Kravets, Ars Technica, 6 Nov. 2017 Back inside, clusters of bodies lay crumpled along the ground as ammunition dinged the metal roof of the bar near the back of the venue. Author: Wesley Lowery, Alaska Dispatch News, 3 Oct. 2017 But a glut of new restaurants and a change in consumer spending habits have dinged the industry. Joe Gose, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ding.' 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

Verb (1)

probably imitative

Noun (2)

ding to strike, from Middle English dingen

First Known Use

Verb (1)

1582, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (1)

circa 1909, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

circa 1945, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

1688, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of ding was in 1582

Dictionary Entries Near ding

Cite this Entry

“Ding.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ding. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

ding

verb
ˈdiŋ
: to make a ringing sound : clang

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