How to Use ding-dong in a Sentence

ding-dong

noun
  • The spate of ding-dong-ditch killings has led some authorities to urge kids and teens not to do the prank at all.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
  • After ringing the doorbell, the bear turns around and walks off the porch, completing its slow-moving ding-dong ditch effort.
    — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 4 Dec. 2025
  • In their search for a late-night ding-dong ditcher, a California homeowner discovered a bear pulling a prank.
    — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 4 Dec. 2025
  • The homeowner decided to check the footage from his doorbell camera to discover the identity of the ding-dong ditcher.
    — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 4 Dec. 2025
  • Earlier this year, an 11-year-old boy in Houston was shot and killed while playing the seemingly harmless prank of ding-dong-ditch.
    — Stephanie Murray, USA Today, 12 Dec. 2025
  • In 2020, three 16-year-olds were killed when a man rammed his car into their vehicle in retaliation for pulling a ding-dong-ditch prank on him.
    — Danya Gainor, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Legal experts note people playing ding-dong ditch can also face charges, with offenses ranging from criminal trespass to disorderly conduct.
    — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 6 Jan. 2026
  • In North Carolina, a juvenile was shot in the leg after a homeowner fired at a vehicle during a late-night ding-dong ditch-style prank, according to police.
    — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 17 Jan. 2026
  • Like trick-or-treating, ding-dong-ditch pranks can escalate, with some versions targeting the same homeowner repeatedly or battering on a door in a threatening manner.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
  • Pranks can turn deadly In recent years, there have been several incidents of homeowners and residents shooting at kids and teenagers or otherwise reacting with deadly force over what started as a game of ding-dong-ditch.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
  • In another ding-dong-ditch prank in 2025, a Virginia 18-year-old was shot and killed in May and a homeowner charged with crimes including second-degree murder.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025
  • If, however, Madrid find themselves in end-to-end ding-dongs next season — the kind that Guardiola spent his career, and particularly his final season at City, trying to avoid — then Bernardo may not be the man for the occasion.
    — Sam Lee, New York Times, 23 June 2026
  • In 2003, Jay Levin shot Mark Drewes, who had been playing ding-dong-ditch and died of his injuries on his 16th birthday, according to the Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Network.
    — Jeanine Santucci, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ding-dong.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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