Sparky: Welcome home Mr.Maru!

Mr.Maru: Hey Sparky, did you have a good day?

Sparky: Yeah, pretty good.

Mr.Maru: Say, what happened to the lamp?

Sparky: The cat slammed into it.

Mr.Maru: We don't have a cat.

Sparky: Yeah. We do. Remember?

Mr.Maru: I think you hit your head.

Sparky: No, I was having a race with the cat and she bashed into the lamp. I swear!

Mr.Maru: Bashed into the lamp? Or crashed into the lamp?

Sparky: I'm not really sure, but she broke it. She definitely broke it.

What is the difference between slam, crash, bash and other words that mean 'to strike'? There are several different words for this same meaning (to strike). Each word has a different nuance. Let's talk about each one and how we can use them.

Define – hit

The verb 'to hit' means 'to strike'. This is the most basic and widely used of the words we are talking about today. This word can talk about a strong hit or a weak hit. For example,

The car hit the truck at 40 miles per hour. (The car was traveling very fast and it touched or struck (strike) the truck.)
The flight attendant hit my elbow when he walked down the aisle. (The flight attendant touched or struck my elbow when he walked down the aisle. It was not a hard or fast hit.)

Define – crash

The verb 'to crash' means 'to move violently into something'. This is usually faster and harder than 'to hit'. The subject does not want to do this action. For example,

When he ran through the door, he crashed into Jenny who was coming in. (He was in a hurry. He wanted to go fast, but didn't know Jenny was there. He accidentally hit her quickly.)
The race car driver crashed into the outside wall. (The race car driver could not control his car. He didn't want to hit the outside wall.)

Define – slam

The verb 'to slam' means 'to hit with a noisy impact'. This is usually fast and hard. The verb 'to slam' usually means making a sharp loud sound when striking something. The subject usually wants to do this action. For example,

George slammed the door after having a big fight. (George wanted to make a loud noise because he was angry so he noisily closed the door.)
She slammed the book shut after studying for 3 hours straight. (She was tired of studying and didn't want to study anymore.)

Define – knock

The verb 'to knock' means 'to strike a sounding blow or collision'. The verb 'to slam' has almost the same meaning, but 'to knock' is usually a duller and deeper sound. For example,

He knocked on the door. (He made a dull sound by hitting his fist against the door.)
I knocked into the desk. (I hit the desk making a soft dull sound.)

Define – bang

The verb 'to bang' means 'to strike violently'. This word has the feeling or sense of an explosion, like a gunshot. It is usually used the same way 'to slam' is, but not to close something. For example,

Jenny banged the shopping cart into the shopping shelves. She knocked over all the cereal boxes. (She hit the shopping shelves hard and it caused an explosion of cereal boxes.)
My brother always use to bang two pots together to wake me up. (My brother had two pots. He hit them together to make a sharp loud sound.)

Define – bash

The verb 'to bash' means 'to strike with a crashing or smashing blow'. This is very violent strike. It is not very careful, too. For example,

The police bashed the door into the drug dealers house. (The door was hit once or several times and it could not probably be used after the police bashed it. It was destroyed.)
George was so frustrated with his cell phone. He bashed it against the ground until it stopped working. (George repeatedly hit his cell phone hard until it could not be used.)

Define – bump

The verb 'to bump' means 'to come in contact with'. This is a gentle hit or strike. The subject does not want to do this action. It is accidental. For example,

Jenny bumped into George in the narrow hallway. (She lightly hit George when she walked down the hallway.)
When I parked my car, I bumped into the car in front of me. Then, the car's alarm went off. (I was driving slowly, but I accidentally hit the car in front of me. The hit made the car alarm go off.)

Do you think you understand? Let's take a short quiz.

1) In anger, she _______ the phone down after her boyfriend broke up with her.

A) crashed

B) bashed

C) slammed

2) When he walked through the door, he _________ his head on the ceiling.

A) banged

B) bashed

C) slammed

3) The typhoon _________ in our roof. We need to completely replace it.

A) bumped

B) hit

C) bashed

Thanks for stopping by. If you have a question about grammar please let me know. Send me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Now, it's your turn. Can you make a sentence with one of these verbs in the comments? Comments can be anonymous and it will help other learners. Thanks for reading!