ENGLISH
REFERENCE

bang around

phr. v..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

phr. v.. to move from place to place while making a lot of loud noise.

phr. v.. to move about a space in a noisy, clumsy, or energetic manner, typically by striking objects or surfaces.


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.

Particles
around
Separability
inseparable
Pattern
bang + around (+ prepositional phrase)
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.

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