pang

UK: /ˈpæŋ/ US: /pæŋ/ ,(pang)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pang /pæŋ/   n. [countable]

1. a sudden feeling of distress in the mind or in the feelings:
   a pang of guilt.
2. a sudden, brief, and sharp pain:
   the pangs of childbirth.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pang  (pang), n. 

1. a sudden feeling of mental or emotional distress or longing:
   a pang of remorse; a pang of desire.
2. a sudden, brief, sharp pain or physical sensation;
   spasm:
   hunger pangs.

• origin, originally uncertain 1495–1505

Synonyms

• 1, 2. . twinge, ache, throb, prick, stab.

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

pang / pæŋ/ noun

1. a sudden brief sharp feeling, as of loneliness, physical pain, or hunger

Etymology: 16th Century: variant of earlier prange, of Germanic origin