bong1
/bɒŋ
/noun
A low-pitched, resonant sound of the kind made by a large bell: the clock had struck the hour and it was only three bongs...
- The grandfather clock in the corner struck eleven o'clock and let out a deep bong sound.
- Those who have to listen to the bongs and chimes of All Through the Night all through the night have had enough.
- Depending on which band you are listening to, pan music can be raucous and noisy, a riotous volley of plinks, clangs and bongs, or it can be like notes on velvet.
verb [no object]
(Especially of a bell) emit a low-pitched, resonant sound.Several eyes looked at the clock, its trusty chimes bonged 3: 00....
- Still, the prototype was completed by New Years Eve 1999, when it bonged twice at midnight.
- It bonged on the hour and needed to be wound up with a special key.
Origin
1920s (originally US): imitative.
Rhymes
bong2
/bɒŋ/noun
A water pipe used for smoking cannabis or other drugs.In the ten years since first trying cannabis, I have been a regular smoker of pure, high quality cannabis using water bongs, special pipes and rarely pure joints....
- On Feb.24, federal agents raided more than 100 homes and businesses throughout the nation that sell bongs and pipes.
- This means using bongs is a healthier smoking option in comparison to pipes and rolling papers.
Origin
1970s: from Thai baung, literally 'cylindrical wooden tube'.
bong3
/bɒŋ/noun Climbing
A large piton.Back then, if you needed a bong-bong (wide piton), you had to make it yourself....
- Other than on routes like Excaliber, where the wide-crack predominates, bongs are rarely needed.
- The route no longer requires the infamous "bong sandwiches" (pitons stacked against wood blocks), but it still has an eerie feel.
Origin
1960s: probably imitative.