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PlainSpell

fang

/ˈfeɪ̯ŋ/noun, verb

fang is spelled F-A-N-G: 4 letters and one syllable. It appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, fang means “A long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of fang is fangs.

How many letters and syllables are in fang?

Letters4: F-A-N-G
Syllables1
In writing2.2 times per million words; the 18,537th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search
Rhymes with

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; 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 fang?

Fang appears 2.2 times per million words in written English, the 18,537th 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 fang?

  • /ˈfæŋ/
  • [ˈfæŋ]
  • US /ˈfeɪ̯ŋ/

Fang has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-fang.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

What rhymes with fang?

The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as fang from its last stressed vowel (/eɪŋ/):

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 fang

  • fangs plural, present, singular, he/she/it
  • fanging participle, present
  • fanged participle, past

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does fang mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

noun

  1. 1

    A long, pointed canine tooth used for biting and tearing flesh.

  2. 2

    obsoleteSynonym of mandible, the long mouthpart of insects and other invertebrates.

  3. 3

    A long, pointed tooth in snakes, used for injecting venom.

  4. 4

    A pointed extension of the chelicera in spiders, used for injecting venom.

  5. 5

    colloquialSynonym of tooth, particularly in humans.

  6. 6

    Either of the two factors that make a number a vampire number.

  7. 7

    ScotlandA grasping; capture; the act or power of seizing; hold.

  8. 8

    ScotlandThat which is seized or carried off; booty; spoils; stolen goods.

  9. 9

    obsoleteSynonym of trap or noose.

  10. 10

    Synonym of root, the part of a tooth embedded in the gums.

  11. 11

    obsoleteSynonym of root, a major projection of a plant's root system.

  12. 12

    obsoleteSynonym of claw or talon.

  13. 13

    Synonym of spike or prong, any sharp projection.

  14. 14

    Synonym of tang, the projection of a piece of metal intended to be driven into a shaft for holding.

verb

  1. 1

    rareTo strike or attack with the fangs.

  2. 2

    To enable to catch or tear; to furnish with fangs.

  3. 3

    archaicTo catch, capture; seize.

  4. 4

    obsoleteTo take; receive with assent; accept.

  5. 5

    obsoleteTo receive with hospitality.

  6. 6

    obsoleteTo receive.

  7. 7

    To receive or adopt into spiritual relation, as in baptism; be godfather or godmother to.

  8. 8

    ScotlandTo supply (a pump) with the water necessary for it to operate.

  9. 9

    AustraliaslangTo drive, ride, etc. at high speed or recklessly.

noun

as Fang
  1. 1

    A people of western Africa.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Fang in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchcroc (prominent canine tooth), crochet (a tooth that can inject venom)
GermanFangzahn, Reißzahn (prominent canine tooth), Giftzahn (a tooth that can inject venom)
Portuguesepresa, canino (prominent canine tooth)
Spanishcolmillo, columelar, canero, canil (prominent canine tooth)

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 fang come from?

From clipping of fangtooth, from Middle English *fangtooth, *fengtooth, from Old English fengtōþ (“molar tooth”), from feng, preterite of fōn (“to catch, take, seize”). Cognate with German Fangzahn (“fang”, literally “catch-tooth”) and Dutch vangtand. See also related senses of Etymology 3 below.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after fang