as in to struggle
to devote serious and sustained effort
the design team has been banging away at that project for months
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Recent Examples of bang away
Blow-dry bangs away from the face with a round brush or Velcro rollers for effortless-looking volume.
—
Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 7 Apr. 2026
Brian Cashman gets it all the time, but good, from Yankee fans; for them, banging away at Cashman on social media feels like the real national pastime.
—Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025
Former staff leaked internal spats and embarrassing editorial ideas by the new leadership and pointed out that many top leaders were banging away at stories that were likely below their pay grade.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 June 2025
One of the roadies came out to bang away on the piano, the notes more felt than heard, part of the noise.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2024
As several drummers banged away, Vázquez danced near a table and teammates clapped along to the music, including a spirited effort from Royce Lewis.
—Dan Hayes, The Athletic, 16 Aug. 2024
Norton remembers banging away on his dad’s Smith Corona typewriter in the den.
—Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2024
The manager demonstrated how to use the rock hammers, and then people got to banging away, trying to find opals in the rock.
—Marla Jo Fisher, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2024
There’s John in his apartment in New York City, banging away at his piano, doing a little demo.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 2 Nov. 2023
Ariel Wodarcyk, InStyle, 7 Apr. 2026
Brian Cashman gets it all the time, but good, from Yankee fans; for them, banging away at Cashman on social media feels like the real national pastime.
—Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 16 Aug. 2025
Former staff leaked internal spats and embarrassing editorial ideas by the new leadership and pointed out that many top leaders were banging away at stories that were likely below their pay grade.
—Max Tani, semafor.com, 9 June 2025
One of the roadies came out to bang away on the piano, the notes more felt than heard, part of the noise.
—Rob Sheffield, Rolling Stone, 29 Sep. 2024
As several drummers banged away, Vázquez danced near a table and teammates clapped along to the music, including a spirited effort from Royce Lewis.
—Dan Hayes, The Athletic, 16 Aug. 2024
Norton remembers banging away on his dad’s Smith Corona typewriter in the den.
—Cynthia Billhartz Gregorian, Kansas City Star, 31 Jan. 2024
The manager demonstrated how to use the rock hammers, and then people got to banging away, trying to find opals in the rock.
—Marla Jo Fisher, Orange County Register, 31 Jan. 2024
There’s John in his apartment in New York City, banging away at his piano, doing a little demo.
—Lars Brandle, Billboard, 2 Nov. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bang away
Verb
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The contestants struggled mighty hard with the songs.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
28 Apr. 2026
-
Pornographic deepfake images of her have circulated online, making the singer the most famous victim of a scourge that tech platforms and antiabuse groups have struggled to fix.—
Maria Sherman,
Fortune,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
While Ray had to labor through the first three innings, the left-hander only needed 12 pitches in the fourth and 11 pitches in the fifth to complete five frames.—
Justice delos Santos,
Mercury News,
25 Apr. 2026
-
Trump poses as a pro-worker force, but his policies are atrocious for the laboring class.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Tampa Bay Rays are still striving for a Hillsborough County stadium vote in May, the team informed the county late last week.—
Nicolas Villamil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
27 Apr. 2026
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Add in Michael’s goth love interest, Star (Maria Wirries), and the musical strives to capture some of the cult appeal of the source musical, the plot of which David Hornsby and Chris Hoch’s book follows closely with one notable change.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
In Florida, most art students go on to work for Disney World; Carly’s Chateau is a theme park scaled to the domestic.—
Olivia Kan-Sperling,
Artforum,
2 May 2026
-
Amid Paul and Mortensen's ongoing legal battle, the fifth season of Mormon Wives temporarily halted production in March after several cast members refused to work with Paul, sources told PEOPLE at the time.—
Luke Chinman,
PEOPLE,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Bang away.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bang%20away. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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