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gang up

 - 3 dictionary results

gang-up

  [gang-uhp]
Use gang up in a Sentence
–noun
an act of ganging up or uniting in opposition to someone or something.
Origin:
1935–40; n. use of v. phrase gang up (on)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To gang up
gang 1   (gāng)   
n.  

  1. A group of criminals or hoodlums who band together for mutual protection and profit.

  2. A group of adolescents who band together, especially a group of delinquents.

  3. Informal A group of people who associate regularly on a social basis: The whole gang from the office went to a clambake.

  4. A group of laborers organized together on one job or under one foreperson: a railroad gang.

  5. A matched or coordinated set, as of tools: a gang of chisels.

    1. A pack of wolves or wild dogs.

    2. A herd, especially of buffalo or elk. See Synonyms at flock1.

v.   ganged, gang·ing, gangs

v.   intr.
To band together as a group or gang.
v.   tr.

  1. To arrange or assemble into a group, as for simultaneous operation or production: gang several pages onto one printing plate.

  2. To attack as an organized group.

Phrasal Verb(s):
gang up

  1. To join together in opposition or attack: The older children were always ganging up on the little ones.

  2. To act together as a group: various agencies ganging up to combat the use of illicit drugs.


[Middle English, band of men, from Old English, journey, and Old Norse -gangr, journey, group (as in thjofagangr, gang of thieves).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

gang up

  1. Also, gang up with. Act together as a group. For example, The residents ganged up to make the neighborhood safer. [Colloquial; c. 1920]

  2. gang up on or against. Join in opposition or attack against, as in The big kids were always ganging up on the little ones, or They all ganged up against the substitute teacher. [1920s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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