ping pong

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

ping pong

/ˈpɪŋˌpɒŋ/ UK
/ˈpiŋˌpɒŋ/ UK
/ˈpɪŋˌpɔŋ/ US
/ˈpɪŋˌpɑŋ/ US, cot caught merger

Rhymes with -ɒŋ

Where it comes from

Onomatopoeic. The name “ping-pong” was in wide use before British manufacturer J. Jaques & Son Ltd trademarked it in 1901. Jaques sold the rights to the “ping-pong” name in the United States to Parker Brothers. Registered in the United States in 1930, Ping-Pong (with dash) is still a registered wordmark of Parker Brothers, Inc. Contrary to a common misconception, the word does not originate from Chinese 乒乓 (pīngpāng), though there are possibilities that the coiners encountered Chinese themselves.

noun ping pongs · ping-pong · pingpong

countable, uncountable Table tennis. Our correspondent seems to hope that the unclean, playing Ping-Pong with the clean, will become unpleasantly conscious of his uncleanness and reform.
Similar: flim-flam, whiff-whaff, gossima
countable, figuratively, uncountable An instance of figuratively bouncing something or someone back and forth. To be conscious is to be subject to just such a ping-pong of recurring nervous activities that effect muscle tone on one side and brain discharge on the other.
UK, countable, uncountable The exchange of proposed amendments between the House of Commons and House of Lords, particularly at the end of a session when compromises have to be made to complete the legislative process within the limited time available.
countable, dated, uncountable A size of photograph a little larger than a postage stamp. As only bust or half-length figures are all the ping pong photographer attempts, only one or two small plain backgrounds is all that is necessary. Generally two are used, a light one and a dark one.
countable, uncountable A small, shallow steelpan drum. Most ping pongs were 35- to 45-gallon drums. The larger drum had room for more notes; the tones were also louder and clearer and could be sustained longer.

verb ping pongs · ping ponging · ping ponged · ping-pong · pingpong

intransitive, transitive To figuratively bounce or be bounced back and forth.
intransitive, transitive To refer (a patient) unnecessarily to a number of clinics or practitioners as a form of fraud.
intransitive To play the game of ping pong.

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"ping pong." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/ping%20pong. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

ping pong. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/ping%20pong

Chicago

"ping pong." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/ping%20pong.

BibTeX

@misc{ping_pong_2026,
  title = {ping pong},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/ping%20pong},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}