In addition to privacy features, DuckDuckGo also includes a few nifty features here and there that make it a better alternative to Google Search. One such noteworthy feature is bangs!, which lets you directly perform searches on other websites on the internet. In this guide, we’ll discuss bangs! and list down some of the best DuckDuckGo !bangs to help you make the most of your DuckDuckGo searches.
What are DuckDuckGo bangs!?
!bangs or Bang commands are shortcuts that allow you to perform searches directly on other search engines or sites. That way, you don’t have to visit websites first and enter your search term manually each time you want to look up something on them. Moreover, if you’ve configured your region in DuckDuckGo’s settings, Bangs will automatically redirect your searches to the website of that particular region, if available.
How to Use DuckDuckGo bangs!?
To use !bangs, all you have to do is type the bang/exclamation mark (!), followed by the shortcut for the website on which you want to perform the search in the search box on DuckDuckGo and hit Enter. !a iPhone 13 cases
Of course, this is just one of the several use cases of !bangs, and you can do much more with them using a wide range of Bang shortcuts, as shown in the following section.
Best DuckDuckGo Bangs
At the time of writing this guide, DuckDuckGo has around 13,565 bangs across various categories like Entertainment, Multimedia, News, Tech, Translation, Shopping, Research, etc., that you can use to improve your search experience on DuckDuckGo. Below is a list of some of the best !bangs that can help you in your everyday use.
1. !gi (Google Images)
While the image search functionality on DuckDuckGo manages to pull up relevant results most of the time, sometimes it can’t find satisfactory results for your search query. In such situations, your best bet is to search for the query on Google Images to get a broader set of results, and the !gi bang helps you with just that.
Usage:
!gi nebula
2. !wc (The Weather Channel)
As the name suggests, the !wc bang is a popular DuckDuckGo bang that lets you quickly check the weather for any location. To use it, all you have to do is type !wc, followed by the city name or ZIP code of the location whose weather you want to check.
Usage:
!wc Delhi
3. !thesaurus (Thesaurus)
Sometimes you may need to quickly look up the meaning, synonyms, or antonyms of a word. While visiting Thesaurus or other online dictionaries and looking up the word on them works well, using the !thesaurus bang can significantly speed up the process.
Usage:
!thesaurus flummoxed
4. !say (Merriam-Webster Pronunciation)
In instances when you come across a word that seems confusing to pronounce, it’s always a good idea to refer to a dictionary. And the !say lets you hear pronunciations on Merriam-Webster, one of the most trusted online dictionaries.
Usage:
!say worcestershire
5. !u (Urban Dictionary)
With the ever-increasing use of new generation lingo and slag in everyday life, Urban Dictionary can prove to be a really useful reference tool, especially when the traditional dictionaries fail to offer a meaning/definition. And to make it easier to look up words or slang on it, DuckDuckGo has the !u bang, which gives you modern meanings of such terms.
Usage:
!u chipmunking
6. !w (Wikipedia)
!w is a very handy DuckDuckGo bang that you must know if you often end up looking up and learning about various topics on Wikipedia. To use this bang, you simply need to type !w followed by the topic you want to look up on Wikipedia.
Usage:
!w duckduckgo
7. !acro (Acronym Finder)
Acronym Finder is a popular platform to find acronyms and abbreviations. If you want to access it on DuckDuckGo, the !acro bang allows you to search your acronym/abbreviation query on the platform right from the DuckDuckGo search.
Usage:
!acro rss
8. !ten (Google Translate)
The !ten bang assists you with Google Translation. So if you need to frequently translate words, phrases, etc., from different languages into English, this can simplify the process and save you a lot of time.
Usage:
!trans salut comment ça va
9. !syear (Startpage) or Similar Private Search Engines
Google Search is good, but sometimes you want results with no bias or filter bubble of personalizations. For such situations, you can use private search engines such as Startpage, Swisscows, and Yandex to get desired results. For example, !syear is one such bang, which lets you search the Startpage search engine.
Usage:
!syear 5G controversy !swisscows 5G controversy !yan 5G controversy
10. !wolf (Wolfram Alpha)
Wolfram Alpha is a knowledge engine that you can use to get answers to questions on different subjects (Mathematics, Society & Culture, and Science & Technology) that are otherwise unavailable on Google or other search engines. To use it, type in !wolf, followed by your query.
Usage:
!wolf d/dx Si(x)^2
11. !gmap (Google Map)
Google Maps is the most popular mapping platform worldwide, and it’s very likely that you use it for all your navigation requirements, too. In which case, we recommend you to use !gmap to speed up your searches and get instant results.
Usage:
!gmap delhi
12. !yt (YouTube)
!yt is probably the best DuckDuckGo bang for you if you consume videos/podcasts/music on YouTube. Using it, you can easily search for any video on the platform right from the DuckDuckGo home page.
Usage:
!yt techpp moto razr
13. !g24 (Google Past 24 hr)
Google Past 24 hr is a search filter that narrows down the results for your search query to the past 24 hours so you can get the latest updates in a day on any topic or from a blog/website. And the !g24 bang makes it easier to apply this right from the DuckDuckGo home page.
Usage:
!g24 android 12
14. !azl (AZLyrics)
AZLyrics is a popular website to find out lyrics about your favorite tracks. And thanks to several requests, there’s finally a DuckDuckGo bang—!azl—that can help you find the lyrics to just about any song in a matter of seconds.
Usage:
!azl blinding lights
15. !spy (Spotify)
Spotify is one of the popular music streaming services. If you use Spotify for all your music and prefer to listen to music on the Spotify Web Player, the !spy shortcut can help you quickly search for music on the platform. For this, simply enter !spy and append it with the name of an artist, song, or album, and DuckDuckGo will open it on Spotify.
Usage:
!spy metallica one
16. !sr (Subreddit)
If you have a few subreddits on Reddit that you visit very often, the !sr bang makes it easier to visit them. Simply append !sr with the name of the subreddit, and it’ll take you to that subreddit.
Usage:
!sr watches
17. !sx (Stack Exchange)
Suppose you’re a developer who needs to frequently visit Stack Exchange to find solutions for various computer programming or troubleshooting-related problems. In that case, you should start using the !sx bang right away to simplify your future searches.
Usage:
!sx tuple object is not callable
Usage:
!kindle the ascent of money !books the ascent of money
19. !imd (IMDB)
If IMDB is your favorite source for news and reviews about movies (or TV shows), then the !imd bang can surely prove to be really useful for you and make your IMDB searches quick. To use it, simply enter your query for movies, shows, and artists after !imd to get all the relevant information on IMDB.
Usage:
!imd oppenheimer
20. !fileinfo (File Info)
!fileinfo, as the name suggests, is a DuckDuckGo Bang that helps you lookup a file extension on File Info, a comprehensive file information database, to learn more about it.
Usage:
!fileinfo ogg
Finding More Bangs
Like we’ve mentioned already, DuckDuckGo has over 13,565 bangs spread across various categories. While the ones on this list can significantly improve your search experience across various online services, you can head over to DuckDuckGo !Bang to check out the other !bangs. Similarly, a lot of web services have a few different !bangs. To find out these, enter the exclamation mark in the search bar and start typing the !bang name, and Bang auto-completion will show you what all !bangs are available.
Use DuckDuckGo !bangs Browser Extension
While DuckDuckGo !bangs are quite easy to remember and use themselves, there’s an (unofficial) DuckDuckGo !bangs browser extension that can simplify the process even further. It’s available on the Chrome Web Store and supports all Chromium-based browsers. To use DuckDuckGo !bangs, simply add the extension to your browser. After this, the extension will give you the option to select buttons for !bangs that you want upfront—below the search bar in DuckDuckGo. So now, every time you need to perform a !bang search, you’ll only need to enter your search query in the DuckDuckGo search box and tap the appropriate !bang button to get the desired result.
Make the Most of Your Searches on the Web
With a decent selection of some of the best DuckDuckGo !bangs at your fingertips, you can now browse the web more efficiently and with greater ease. If you’ve been a DuckDuckGo user for some time, this nifty search trick is another reason—besides the search engine’s privacy-friendly search experience—to continue using the search engine. One thing to keep in mind with Bang shortcuts, though, is that when you include !bangs in your search, you’re evading DuckDuckGo’s privacy policies. So all your data is subject to the privacy (tracking and data collecting) policies of the websites you end up on with those !bangs. If you’re worried that this can lead to privacy issues, you should avoid using !bangs and instead append your results with the website’s name to narrow down your results.
