as in mistake
an unintentional departure from truth or accuracy
a newsreader who memorably dropped a clanger when she referred to Robert Burns as an English poet
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Recent Examples of clanger
Pope dropped clangers earlier in the season and weak concessions against Manchester City and Qarabag preceded Everton.
—
Chris Waugh, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
In its two most recent games, its goalkeeper, André Onana, has made calamitous clangers, leading to easy goals for the opposition.
—Alex Tabet, NBC News, 15 Dec. 2024
Another game against Chelsea and another clanger for Lloris - this time during the Lilywhites tenure at Wembley.
—SI.com, 30 Sep. 2019
The veined wing of the clanger cicada kills bacteria solely through its physical structure — one of the first natural surfaces found to do so.
—Trevor Quirk, Scientific American, 5 Mar. 2013
Chris Waugh, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
In its two most recent games, its goalkeeper, André Onana, has made calamitous clangers, leading to easy goals for the opposition.
—Alex Tabet, NBC News, 15 Dec. 2024
Another game against Chelsea and another clanger for Lloris - this time during the Lilywhites tenure at Wembley.
—SI.com, 30 Sep. 2019
The veined wing of the clanger cicada kills bacteria solely through its physical structure — one of the first natural surfaces found to do so.
—Trevor Quirk, Scientific American, 5 Mar. 2013
Recent Examples of Synonyms for clanger
Noun
-
Unfortunately, admitting mistakes doesn’t come easily for many people.—
Hartford Courant,
Hartford Courant,
25 Apr. 2026
-
To avoid this big mistake, figure out in advance exactly how deep the hole should be, and be careful not to dig any deeper.—
Beth Botts,
Chicago Tribune,
25 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Brown could have made a change to the starting lineup, as some expected after a blunder of a Mikal Bridges performance (zero points, four turnovers) in the Knicks’ Game 3 loss at State Farm Arena on Thursday.—
Kristian Winfield,
New York Daily News,
26 Apr. 2026
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Casey Schmitt made up for a baserunning blunder with a two-run homer, Drew Gilbert and Heliot Ramos added solo shots and the San Francisco Giants evened their three-game home series against the Miami Marlins at a game apiece with a 6-2 triumph Saturday afternoon.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
26 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Gobeille led off the seventh with an infield single up the middle, and an error on Kiefer’s bunt put both on.—
Tom Mulherin,
Boston Herald,
30 Apr. 2026
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During day three of the trial, Elon Musk struggled to present a confident front, which led to a number of unforced errors.—
Joe Wilkins,
Futurism,
30 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Clanger.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clanger. Accessed 2 May. 2026.
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