Phrasal verb
bang around
Definition
phrasal verb. to move from place to place while making a lot of loud noise.
phrasal verb. to move about a space in a noisy, clumsy, or energetic manner, typically by striking objects or surfaces.
Examples
“The kids are banging around in the kitchen.”
“I could hear my roommate banging around the apartment early this morning while he was looking for his keys.”
“The old pipes began to bang around inside the walls as soon as the heating system was activated for the winter.”
Examples
simple
“The kids are banging around in the kitchen.”
contextual
“I could hear my roommate banging around the apartment early this morning while he was looking for his keys.”
complex
“The old pipes began to bang around inside the walls as soon as the heating system was activated for the winter.”
Usage
often used with 'in' or 'the' followed by a room or building.
Teaching tip
this is an intransitive phrasal verb that emphasizes the auditory aspect of movement; it is more specific than 'move' and less purposeful than 'search'.
Pitfall
He was banging around the furniture.
He was banging into the furniture.
to 'bang around' describes general noisy movement in a space, whereas 'bang into' describes hitting a specific object.
Phrasal verb
Particles
around
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
bang + around (+ prepositional phrase)
Synonyms
Antonyms
Grammar
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/bang-around