gig

Use Gig in a sentence

noun

a light, two-wheeled one-horse carriage.

Nautical.

a light boat rowed with four, six, or eight long oars.

a boat reserved for the use of the captain of a ship.

something that whirls.

Also called gig mill. a roller containing teasels, used for raising nap on a fabric.

Obsolete, whirligig ( def 5 ).

Relevant Questions

How Much Is A Gig?

verb (used without object)

to ride in a gig.

to raise the nap on (a fabric).

00:10

Gig is one of our favorite verbs.

So is hornswoggle. Does it mean:

chat, to converse

to swindle, cheat, hoodwink, or hoax.

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Origin:
1200–50; Middle English gigge, gig flighty girl; akin to Danish gig top; compare Norwegian giga to shake about

Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

a device, commonly four hooks secured back to back, for dragging through a school of fish to hook them through the body.

a spearlike device with a long, thick handle, used for spearing fish and frogs.

verb (used with object)

to catch or spear (a fish or frog) with a gig.

verb (used without object)

to catch fish or frogs with a gig.

Origin:
1715–25; shortened from fishgig or fizgig

noun

an official report of a minor infraction of regulations, as in school or the army; a demerit.

a punishment for a minor infraction of rules.

verb (used with object)

to give a gig to or punish with a gig.

Origin:
1940–45; origin uncertain

noun

a single professional engagement, usually of short duration, as of jazz or rock musicians.

any job, especially one of short or uncertain duration: a teaching gig out west somewhere.

verb (used without object)

to work as a musician, especially in a single engagement: He gigged with some of the biggest names in the business.

Origin:
1925–30; origin uncertain

noun

a gigabyte.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To gig

Collins

World English Dictionary

gig¹ (ɡɪɡ)

—n
1.	a light two-wheeled one-horse carriage without a hood
2.	nautical a light tender for a vessel, often for the personal use of the captain
3.	a long light rowing boat, used esp for racing
4.	a machine for raising the nap of a fabric

—vb , gigs, gigging, gigged
5.	(intr) to travel in a gig
6.	(tr) to raise the nap of (fabric)

[C13 (in the sense: flighty girl, spinning top): perhaps of Scandinavian origin; compare Danish gig top, Norwegian giga to shake about]

gig² (ɡɪɡ)

—n
1.	a cluster of barbless hooks drawn through a shoal of fish to try to impale them
2.	short for fishgig

—vb , gigs, gigging, gigged
3.	to catch (fish) with a gig

[C18: shortened from fishgig]

gig³ (ɡɪɡ)

—n
1.	a job, esp a single booking for a musician, comedian, etc, to perform at a concert or club
2.	the performance itself

—vb , gigs, gigging, gigged
3.	(intr) to perform at a gig or gigs

[C20: of unknown origin]

gig⁴ (ɡɪɡ)

—n
	informal short for gigabyte

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

gig

"light carriage, small boat," 1790, perhaps, on notion of bouncing, from M.E. ghyg "spinning top" (in whyrlegyg, 1440), also "giddy girl" (giglet), from O.N. geiga "turn sideways," or Dan. gig "spinning top."

gig

"job," first used by jazz musicians, attested from 1915 but said to have been in use c.1905; of uncertain origin.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

gig definition

n.
a onetime job; an engagement. (Musicians.) : I had a gig out on the west side, but I couldn't get there.
in.
to play or perform. (Musicians.) : I didn't gig at all last week. I'm getting hungry for a job.
n.
any job of an assignment nature; a onetime job such as when a newspaper reporter is assigned to write a particular story. : I didn't want that election gig, but I got it anyway.
n.
a bother; an annoyance; a job. : Man, this paperwork is such a gig.
n.
a giggle; a bit of laughter. : Her little story gave us all a good gig.

Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

gig definition

gigabyte

American Heritage

Abbreviations & Acronyms

gig
gigabyte

GIG
GaleÃ£o International Airport (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Encyclopedia Britannica

Encyclopedia

gig

any of several members of a class of light, open, two-wheeled, one-horse carriages, popular in France, England, and America. The gig, which first appeared in Paris in the 17th century, is the ancestor of the cabriolet. Popular variations were the Tilbury gig and the Stanhope gig, both designed by Fitzroy Stanhope. The Stanhope gig was an elegant carriage with low wheels that therefore required shafts with an upward reverse curve where attached to the horse's harness. The Tilbury resembled the Stanhope except in its manner of suspension

Learn more about gig with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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Example sentences

The gig is up not only on humanities' research but on the pseudo sciences as

well.

It's what make makes this gig so frustrating and fun.

Not a full-time gig of course, but excellent prep on the way.

Sign, but if the better job comes up, take it and ditch the adjunct gig.

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Matching Quote

"Shea—they call him Scholar Jack—
Went down the list of the dead.
Officers, seamen, gunners, marines,
The crews of the gig and yawl,
The bearded man and the lad in his teens,
Carpenters, coal-passers—all."

-Joseph I. C. Clarke