clanger

noun

clang·​er ˈklaŋ-ər How to pronounce clanger (audio)
British
: a conspicuous blunder
often used in the phrase drop a clanger

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In its two most recent games, its goalkeeper, André Onana, has made calamitous clangers, leading to easy goals for the opposition. Alex Tabet, NBC News, 15 Dec. 2024 Another game against Chelsea and another clanger for Lloris - this time during the Lilywhites tenure at Wembley. SI.com, 30 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 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

Word History

First Known Use

1948, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of clanger was in 1948

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Clanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/clanger. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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