bong
/bɔŋ/noun, verb
bong is spelled B-O-N-G: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, bong means “The clang of a large bell” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of bong is bongs.
How many letters and syllables are in bong?
| Letters | 4: B-O-N-G |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,928th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is bong?
Bong appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce bong?
- UK /bɒŋ/
- US /bɔŋ/
- /bɑŋ/
Bong has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-bong.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with bong
Also written: bung.
Sources: English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with bong?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as bong from its last stressed vowel (/ɔŋ/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of bong
- bongs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- bonging participle, present
- bonged participle, past
- boong
- bung
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does bong mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
slangThe clang of a large bell.
The sound of a bong echoed across the courtyard, signaling the hour.
- 2
slangDoorbell chimes.
- 3
derogatoryClipping of Britbong
- 4
A vessel, usually made of glass or ceramic and filled with water, used in smoking various substances, especially cannabis.
- 5
An act of smoking one serving of drugs from a bong.
- 6
A device for rapidly consuming beer, usually consisting of a funnel or reservoir of beer and a length of tubing.
- 7
A very wide piton.
- 8
An Australian Aboriginal person.
- 9
Alternative spelling of bung (“purse”).
verb
- 1
slangTo pull a bell.
- 2
slangTo ring a doorbell.
- 3
Make a bell-like sound
The church bell began to bong at noon, marking the start of the ceremony.
- 4
informalTo smoke a bong.
noun
- 1
IndiaoffensiveA Bengali (from West Bengal).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Bong in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does bong come from?
Onomatopoeic.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).