as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort
the design team has been banging away at that project for months
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Recent Examples of bang away
Blow-dry bangs away from the face with a round brush or Velcro rollers for effortless-looking volume.
—
Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 7 Apr. 2026
Brian Cashman gets it all the time, but good, from Yankee fans; for them, banging away at Cashman on social media feels like the real national pastime.
—Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025
Former staff leaked internal spats and embarrassing editorial ideas by the new leadership and pointed out that many top leaders were banging away at stories that were likely below their pay grade.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 June 2025
One of the roadies came out to bang away on the piano, the notes more felt than heard, part of the noise.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2024
As several drummers banged away, Vázquez danced near a table and teammates clapped along to the music, including a spirited effort from Royce Lewis.
—Dan Hayes, The Athletic, 16 Aug. 2024
Norton remembers banging away on his dad’s Smith Corona typewriter in the den.
—Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2024
The manager demonstrated how to use the rock hammers, and then people got to banging away, trying to find opals in the rock.
—Marla Jo Fisher, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2024
There’s John in his apartment in New York City, banging away at his piano, doing a little demo.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 2 Nov. 2023
Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 7 Apr. 2026
Brian Cashman gets it all the time, but good, from Yankee fans; for them, banging away at Cashman on social media feels like the real national pastime.
—Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025
Former staff leaked internal spats and embarrassing editorial ideas by the new leadership and pointed out that many top leaders were banging away at stories that were likely below their pay grade.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 June 2025
One of the roadies came out to bang away on the piano, the notes more felt than heard, part of the noise.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2024
As several drummers banged away, Vázquez danced near a table and teammates clapped along to the music, including a spirited effort from Royce Lewis.
—Dan Hayes, The Athletic, 16 Aug. 2024
Norton remembers banging away on his dad’s Smith Corona typewriter in the den.
—Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2024
The manager demonstrated how to use the rock hammers, and then people got to banging away, trying to find opals in the rock.
—Marla Jo Fisher, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2024
There’s John in his apartment in New York City, banging away at his piano, doing a little demo.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 2 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bang away
Verb
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As families struggle with rising costs, healthcare affordability has emerged as a defining issue heading into the midterms.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
2 June 2026
-
The back-to-back deals offer one of the clearest signals yet that Abel is prepared to put Berkshire’s enormous balance sheet to work after years of criticism that the company had become too cautious and was struggling to find opportunities large enough to move the needle.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
2 June 2026
Verb
-
The Thunder labored through a 111-103 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday in a decisive Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals.—
Mark Medina,
Forbes.com,
31 May 2026
-
With evacuation shelters reaching capacity as more than 40,000 people were asked to leave their homes, officials laboring to prevent an explosion at a crippled chemical tank in Garden Grove reported tentative progress Sunday in ending the crisis.—
Deborah Netburn,
Los Angeles Times,
24 May 2026
Verb
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Her 50-something protagonist, Alan Anderson, and his socially striving wife Vivian, are at least about to start thinking about where their family is going to go, once Alan retreats to a backyard playhouse.—
Bethanne Patrick,
Los Angeles Times,
1 June 2026
-
The Bears are also emphasizing ball placement with all of their quarterbacks, striving for pinpoint precision on throws as often as possible.—
Dan Wiederer,
New York Times,
1 June 2026
Verb
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The walk-off home run came after the bullpen of the Twins (27-31) had worked four scoreless innings, taking over after a four-inning start from Taj Bradley.—
Betsy Helfand,
Twin Cities,
30 May 2026
-
Ciber ’s team work quickly under netting to mount a huge Browning heavy machine gun onto tank tracks.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
30 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bang away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bang%20away. Accessed 7 Jun. 2026.
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