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to prang

to prang

1 9.9
To crash a car in a small accident that causes little damage
  • verb
  • /præŋ/
  • UK
: chocar

Examples

  • Gradually, I drifted off to sleep... ...pranging ducks on the wing and getting off spectacular hip shots.

  • He pranged his car into a lamppost while trying to park.

  • She was upset after pranging her father's vehicle on the way home.

  • During the driving lesson, I pranged the instructor's car by backing into a curb.

Synonyms

crash
vsto prang
652 2.3

A violent collision of vehicles like cars or planes that causes damage

is a milder informal vehicle accident often a small minor collision

How Severe

to wreck
233 2.9
crash
652 2.3
to prang
  • UK
1 9.9
to bump
150 1.0
dent
51 1.0
to scrape
93 1.2

Surface Forms

prang infinitive
pranged past
pranged past participle
pranging present participle
prangs third person singular

Etymology

Prang as a verb comes from the same idea of copying the noise of a small crash, like 'bang'. One popular story says pilots used a Malay word perang meaning 'war', but we are not certain. So, to prang something is to crash it a little, as in a small car accident.