as in lunatic
a person who lacks good sense or judgment
there's always one ding-dong in the tour group who wanders off and gets lost
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Recent Examples of ding-dong
Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 17 Jan. 2026
Legal experts note people playing ding-dong ditch can also face charges, with offenses ranging from criminal trespass to disorderly conduct.
—Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 6 Jan. 2026
Earlier this year, an 11-year-old boy in Houston was shot and killed while playing the seemingly harmless prank of ding-dong-ditch.
—Stephanie Murray, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025
In their search for a late-night ding-dong ditcher, a California homeowner discovered a bear pulling a prank.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 4 Dec. 2025
In 2020, three 16-year-olds were killed when a man rammed his car into their vehicle in retaliation for pulling a ding-dong-ditch prank on him.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025
In California, a 45-year-old man who ran down a group of ding-dong ditch pranksters, killing three teenagers, was sentenced in 2023 to life in prison.
—Dennis Romero, NBC news, 1 Sep. 2025
Three kids playing a ding-dong ditch prank in a southwest Florida neighborhood ended up getting chased down and nearly hit by one resident in a car, authorities said.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 16 July 2025
Bomer is good when Jerry the ding-dong must navigate a moment of real sentiment or complication; the juxtaposition is effective.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2025
Noun
In North Carolina, a juvenile was shot in the leg after a homeowner fired at a vehicle during a late-night ding-dong ditch-style prank, according to police.
—Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 17 Jan. 2026
Legal experts note people playing ding-dong ditch can also face charges, with offenses ranging from criminal trespass to disorderly conduct.
—Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 6 Jan. 2026
Earlier this year, an 11-year-old boy in Houston was shot and killed while playing the seemingly harmless prank of ding-dong-ditch.
—Stephanie Murray, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025
In their search for a late-night ding-dong ditcher, a California homeowner discovered a bear pulling a prank.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 4 Dec. 2025
In 2020, three 16-year-olds were killed when a man rammed his car into their vehicle in retaliation for pulling a ding-dong-ditch prank on him.
—Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025
In California, a 45-year-old man who ran down a group of ding-dong ditch pranksters, killing three teenagers, was sentenced in 2023 to life in prison.
—Dennis Romero, NBC news, 1 Sep. 2025
Three kids playing a ding-dong ditch prank in a southwest Florida neighborhood ended up getting chased down and nearly hit by one resident in a car, authorities said.
—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 16 July 2025
Bomer is good when Jerry the ding-dong must navigate a moment of real sentiment or complication; the juxtaposition is effective.
—Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 27 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ding-dong
Noun
-
Even then, though, the popular take — the story of the lunatics taking over asylum — didn’t sit right with me.—
Paul Fischer,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Beating these lunatics was incredible, right?—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Prices at the auction were gong up and up.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Mad Monarch of Mar-a-Lago is ridiculed worldwide as the babbling fool and face of Satan whose venom is deadly and far-reaching.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
15 Feb. 2026
-
But don’t let the humble exterior fool you.—
USA TODAY NETWORK,
USA Today,
11 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Last year, the budget process went into overtime as the two chambers fought over sales taxes and clashed with DeSantis.—
Jeffrey Schweers,
The Orlando Sentinel,
13 Feb. 2026
-
This isn’t the first time a Ryan Murphy production has clashed with the estate of its subject.—
Antonio Ferme,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Two firefighters in ice rescue suits navigated the icy conditions and removed the goose from the ice.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Maara is a silly goose who knows how to switch it up.—
Kiana Mickles,
Pitchfork,
17 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Netflix and Amazon jingled all the way to some big audiences on Christmas Day, thanks to the NFL.—
Katie Campione,
Deadline,
31 Dec. 2025
-
The city’s more than 25-year-old parade marched down Crown Valley Parkway Saturday morning, Dec. 13, jingling all the way.—
Heather McRea,
Oc Register,
14 Dec. 2025
Verb
-
Future transshipment rules, for instance, could ding individual components that are made in one country—China, again, is a good bet—and then integrated into a product without enough of a transformation in another before winding up in the United States.—
Jasmin Malik Chua,
Sourcing Journal,
4 Nov. 2025
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La Cañada resident Trent Sanders, who frequently dings California’s liberal politicos in emails to me and my colleagues, thinks Trump is generally on the right track three months into his term, but with a few caveats.—
Steve Lopez,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Better for me the nuts-and-bolts march toward expertise.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
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DeWitt's go-to options include nuts, Greek yogurt and apple slices with nut butter.—
Deirdre Bardolf,
FOXNews.com,
11 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ding-dong.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ding-dong. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
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