What does dinger mean?
Dinger is an informal noun used chiefly for something notably good, big, or forceful of its kind. Its best-known modern sense is baseball: a home run, as when commentators say a batter 'launched a dinger into the stands.' More generally, calling anything — a meal, a plot twist, a deal — a dinger marks it as a standout example. The word is built on 'ding,' an echoic term imitating the sound of a sharp blow or ring, which explains why it feels so apt for both the crack of a bat and the clang of a bell; indeed, in Australia and New Zealand a dinger can be a bell or the ringing of one, and in Australian slang it can even refer to the buttocks. Casual and energetic in tone, dinger appears mostly in speech, sports coverage, and light journalism rather than formal writing, where 'home run' or 'outstanding example' would be preferred.
nounA dinger is something outstanding or striking of its kind, especially a home run in baseball; in Australian and New Zealand slang it can also mean a bell, a ding on a bell, or (in Australia) the buttocks.
- (Baseball, informal) A home run.
- (Informal) Something outstanding, remarkable, or striking of its kind.
- (Australia & New Zealand, slang) A bell, especially one rung to signal time; also the act of ringing such a bell.
- (Australian slang) The buttocks.
"He stepped up in the ninth inning and hit a towering dinger over the left-field wall."
"She crushed a two-run dinger into the upper deck to win the game."
"The final chapter of that novel is an absolute dinger — you won't see it coming."
Regular plural; used freely in both the baseball and general senses.
"The rookie hit three dingers in his first week in the majors."
In baseball broadcasts, nothing announces itself quite like a dinger — the word sounds exactly like the crack of the bat it describes.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dinger
Dinger is formed from the echoic English verb 'ding,' meaning to strike or ring with a clanging sound, with the agentive suffix '-er.' The word emerged in nineteenth-century American English, first meaning a blow or a resounding strike, and later developed the sense of a bell or bell-ringing in Australia and New Zealand. Its popularity today rests largely on American baseball slang, where a dinger is a home run, and on general informal use for anything outstanding. It shares its root with related echoic forms such as 'ding' and 'ding-dong.'
How dinger is actually used
Predominantly informal and colloquial. The baseball sense is common in American sports commentary and fan speech; the 'something outstanding' sense is broader but still casual. The bell-related and anatomical senses are regional slang (Australia/New Zealand and Australia respectively) and may be unfamiliar elsewhere.
Easily confused with dinger
A dingo is a wild dog native to Australia, whereas a dinger is a slang term for something outstanding such as a home run.