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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bang away
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
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
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
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
Norton remembers banging away on his dad’s Smith Corona typewriter in the den.
—Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 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
There’s John in his apartment in New York City, banging away at his piano, doing a little demo.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 1 Nov. 2023
Show business in all its forms was the family norm for Cassidy, who as a kid often wrote songs while banging away on neighbor Rosemary Clooney’s piano as her kids played basketball with their cousin George Clooney.
—Alicia Dennis, Peoplemag, 22 June 2023
Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 June 2025
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
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
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
Norton remembers banging away on his dad’s Smith Corona typewriter in the den.
—Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 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
There’s John in his apartment in New York City, banging away at his piano, doing a little demo.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 1 Nov. 2023
Show business in all its forms was the family norm for Cassidy, who as a kid often wrote songs while banging away on neighbor Rosemary Clooney’s piano as her kids played basketball with their cousin George Clooney.
—Alicia Dennis, Peoplemag, 22 June 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bang away
Verb
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On offense, the Red Sox have predictably struggled without Devers’ bat in the lineup.—
Jen McCaffrey,
New York Times,
28 June 2025
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However, San Jose has struggled to keep pace, with the city failing to see a single construction start last year for market-rate multi-family developments over 20 units, making the Pleasant Hills project a potential bonus should it be constructed.—
Devan Patel,
Mercury News,
28 June 2025
Verb
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Haliburton was laboring, and the Pacers were working around it.—
Tony East,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2025
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Indeed, where Webb got soft contact and quick outs, needing just 98 pitches to complete his seventh seven-inning outing of the season, Yamamoto labored through hitters’ counts and long at-bats, issuing a career-high five walks while finding the strike zone on just 56 of his 102 pitches.—
Jack Harris,
Los Angeles Times,
14 June 2025
Verb
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Kenn Ricci, founder of Flexjet, is an executive who strives to embody both while also running a business in one of the more challenging industries to be sustainable in, aviation.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
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But improvements on the field are what this group strives for each year.—
Scott Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
27 June 2025
Verb
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Nishant lives in Vancouver, Canada with his wife and toddler, and is working on a book about the art of fatherhood.—
Nishant Jain,
The Dial,
24 June 2025
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Evolution tends to repeat what works, AKA convergent evolution.—
Jahan Marcu,
Rolling Stone,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bang away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bang%20away. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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