British
: a conspicuous blunder
—often used in the phrase drop a clanger
Synonyms
Examples of clanger in a Sentence
They lost the game after a defensive clanger.
a newsreader who memorably dropped a clanger when she referred to Robert Burns as an English poet
Recent Examples on the Web
The veined wing of the clanger cicada kills bacteria solely through its physical structure — one of the first natural surfaces found to do so.
—
Trevor Quirk, Scientific American, 5 Mar. 2013
But only new centre back David Luiz has provided clangers in defence in more than one game, losing Ashley Barnes with some schoolboy marking against Burnley before that shirt pull on Mohamed Salah at Anfield.
—SI.com, 7 Sep. 2019
Another game against Chelsea and another clanger for Lloris - this time during the Lilywhites tenure at Wembley.
—SI.com, 30 Sep. 2019
This doesn't stop players from slipping every now and again, or dropping a social clanger or two.
—SI.com, 29 Sep. 2019
This is hardly surprising given the Spaniard's mixed start to life at Anfield, making a clanger while trying to play out from the back which handed Danny Ings a goal in the narrow victory over Southampton.
—SI.com, 3 Sep. 2019
For years the clanger has dangled in the middle, banging against the bell’s iron walls for two states to hear, back and forth from Indiana to Ohio to Indiana to Ohio …
WHERE’S GREGG?
—Gregg Doyel, Indianapolis Star, 3 July 2019
Despite showing solidarity on the pitch, matters were complicated when Bale's agent dropped an inadvertent clanger on local radio, stating the pair didn't get along.
—SI.com, 1 Apr. 2018
His most recent clanger came against Southampton in the Gunners' last league game.
—SI.com, 12 Apr. 2018
See More
Trevor Quirk, Scientific American, 5 Mar. 2013
But only new centre back David Luiz has provided clangers in defence in more than one game, losing Ashley Barnes with some schoolboy marking against Burnley before that shirt pull on Mohamed Salah at Anfield.
—SI.com, 7 Sep. 2019
Another game against Chelsea and another clanger for Lloris - this time during the Lilywhites tenure at Wembley.
—SI.com, 30 Sep. 2019
This doesn't stop players from slipping every now and again, or dropping a social clanger or two.
—SI.com, 29 Sep. 2019
This is hardly surprising given the Spaniard's mixed start to life at Anfield, making a clanger while trying to play out from the back which handed Danny Ings a goal in the narrow victory over Southampton.
—SI.com, 3 Sep. 2019
For years the clanger has dangled in the middle, banging against the bell’s iron walls for two states to hear, back and forth from Indiana to Ohio to Indiana to Ohio …
WHERE’S GREGG?
—Gregg Doyel, Indianapolis Star, 3 July 2019
Despite showing solidarity on the pitch, matters were complicated when Bale's agent dropped an inadvertent clanger on local radio, stating the pair didn't get along.
—SI.com, 1 Apr. 2018
His most recent clanger came against Southampton in the Gunners' last league game.
—SI.com, 12 Apr. 2018
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'clanger.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1948, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing clanger
Dictionary Entries Near clanger
Cite this Entry
“Clanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clanger. Accessed 30 Nov. 2023.
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