shebang
/ʃɪˈbæŋ(ɡ)/noun
shebang is spelled S-H-E-B-A-N-G: 7 letters. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,179th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, shebang means “A lean-to or temporary shelter” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of shebang is shebangs.
How many letters and syllables are in shebang?
| Letters | 7: S-H-E-B-A-N-G |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 62,179th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
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).
How common is shebang?
Shebang appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 62,179th 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 shebang?
- /ʃɪˈbæŋ(ɡ)/
- /ʃə-/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-shebang.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of shebang
- shebangs plural
- chebang
- schebang
- sheebang
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does shebang mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
USdatedinformalA lean-to or temporary shelter.
- 2
USdatedinformalA place or building; a store, saloon, or brothel.
- 3
informalAny matter of present concern; thing; or business; most commonly in the phrase the whole shebang.
I like the book, I like you and your style and your business vim, and believe the chebang will be a success.
- 4
informalobsoleteA vehicle.
[…] So they got into the empty omnibus and sat down. Colonel Jack says: “...What is the name of this.” Colonel Jim told him it was a barouche. After a while he poked his head out in front and said to the driver, “I say, Johnny, this suits m
- 5
The character string "#!" used at the beginning of a computer file to indicate which interpreter can process the commands in the file, chiefly used in Unix and related operating systems.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does shebang come from?
Unknown. First attested in 1854 in Pennsylvania as "chebang" in the sense of an Oddfellows lodge. Attested from the early 1860s with the meaning "inn" and (slightly later) “temporary shelter”.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).