Slangora

brand spankers

British and Australian slang, usually humorous, meaning brand spanking new — completely fresh, unused, and straight out of the box.

ˈbɹænd ˈspæŋkɚzDocumented since 1650shistorical204 viewsLast reviewed Jun 29, 2026+ Add a definition
🗺️ Regional & Other
2 definitions
Community

Etymology timeline

Born ~1650 · no dated citations yet
1650BornToday, 2026

Definitions

#1·Apr 28, 2026

British and Australian slang, usually humorous, meaning brand spanking new — completely fresh, unused, and straight out of the box. It's a cheerful compression of the fuller phrase, often deployed with a bit of irony or enthusiasm. You're just as likely to hear it applied to a pair of trainers as to a brand-new car. The humour partly comes from the fact that 'spankers' sounds slightly absurd on its own.

He rolled up to the pitch in brand spankers boots that clearly hadn't seen a single training session yet.
Origin: Shortened form of brand spanking new, itself of uncertain origin; 'spanking' as an intensifier meaning fine or excellent dates to the 17th century. Editorial expansion authored on Slangora.
Was this helpful?

Comments

#2·Apr 26, 2026

(slang, humorous) Brand spanking new.

For parents

Brand spankers means: Brand spanking new.. It is informal slang, fine in casual speech but not suited to formal contexts. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.

For ESL learners

brand spankers means: Brand spanking new.. Register: very informal, slang. Suitable only for casual conversation, chat and social media. Do not use in business, academic or news writing. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself.

Cluster: general
Was this helpful?

Comments

Have a better definition?

Add your own interpretation of "brand spankers".

Add definition

🗺️About Regional & Other slang

Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.

See all Regional & Other slang on Slangora.

Tags

Other words near "brand spankers" (B)

Browse all slang words starting with B.

Related terms

People also read

Semantically related