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to bang down the door

to bang down the door

1 7.1
Force a door open by hitting it hard
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : derribar la puerta
  • The police had to bang down the door to rescue the trapped child inside.

Examples

  • During the emergency, the firefighters banged down the door to enter the burning building.

  • Wait a moment, they are banging down the door with the butts of their guns!

    Blog text (23)
  • ♪ As they were banging down the door ♪ ♪ But they'll never split ♪ this family on this day ♪ ♪ As the Lord is my witness ♪ ♪ We'll get that boy at Christmas ♪ ♪ No one's taking our Jesus away ♪ ♪ We knew the time had come ♪ ♪ To bring the Lord's only son ♪ ♪ Turned on the gas, lit a match ♪ ♪ And began to pray ♪ It tastes a lot better than it smells I can assure you.

  • I heard someone bang down the door as I was getting ready for bed.

Synonyms

to bang
vsto bang down the door
318 1.0

To hit or close something suddenly and loudly

specifies doing this to gain entry by hitting rather than any sudden noisy strike
to whack
vsto bang down the door
250 5.5

To hit someone or something hard so it makes a loud sound

focuses more on breaking an entrance open with noise than a lone strong blow
to pound
vsto bang down the door
225 1.3

To hit something again and again very hard

targets opening a barrier by loud, violent impact rather than general repeated hitting
to smack
vsto bang down the door
164 3.5

To hit someone or something with an open hand

is more about loud, violent hitting to open an entrance rather than a hand strike
to knock out
vsto bang down the door
64 3.8

To break or remove something by force, often by hitting it

is narrower, describing noisy, violent hitting aimed specifically at gaining entry
to kick in
vsto bang down the door
38 4.1

Force a door or gate open by hitting it hard with your foot

focuses more on loud striking to open rather than only kicking
to bust up
vsto bang down the door
  • Informal
34 5.8

To break something into pieces by hitting it hard

concentrates on making a noisy entry by hitting rather than general smashing
to kick down
vsto bang down the door
14 5.5

Force open a door or gate by hitting it with your foot

is about striking the entrance loudly rather than using the foot alone
to break open
vsto bang down the door
13 2.1

To open something suddenly by force, for example a locked door or jar

adds the idea of loud striking to cause the opening rather than pressure alone
to smash up
vsto bang down the door
  • Informal
5 4.7

To damage something very badly so it breaks into pieces

is about forceful, noisy hitting specifically to open an entrance rather than general destruction
to wallop
vsto bang down the door
  • Informal
2 7.3

To hit something or someone very hard

adds the goal of forcing an opening through noise and repeated strikes
to break in
vsto bang down the door
1 3.5

To force open a door or window to get inside

emphasizes noisy, violent hitting specifically to open rather than general breaking
to whap
vsto bang down the door
1 8.1

To hit something or someone hard and make a loud sound

adds the aim of forcing an opening through violent noise and impact
to ram down
vsto bang down the door
1 7.1

To force something down by hitting it hard

describes forcing an entrance by loud hitting rather than a single downward blow
to yank the door open
vsto bang down the door
  • Informal
1 4.6

Pull a door quickly and hard to open it

involves noisy, repeated striking rather than a forceful pull
to give a whap
vsto bang down the door
  • Informal
8.8

To hit something quickly with a short, sharp blow

is about forceful, often repeated hitting to force an entry rather than a single sharp hit

Antonyms

1.0

To shut something so it is not open

How Forceful

to kick down
14 5.5
to bang down the door
1 7.1
to knock
825 1.0

Surface Forms

bang down the door infinitive

Morphology

bang + down + the + door

The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'bang' (to strike loudly) applied to 'door' with 'down' signalling force/directional completion, so a learner who knows the words can infer forcefully hitting/opening the door. This compositional pattern (verb + particle indicating force/direction) is common in English and cross-linguistically familiar, making the expression readily understandable at B1.

Etymology

Bang down the door shows a clear picture: someone hits a locked door hard with a loud bang to force it down until it opens. So, it means 'to forcefully open a door'.