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View synonyms for gang

gang

1

[ gang ]

noun

  1. a group or band:

    A gang of boys gathered around the winning pitcher.

    Synonyms: coterie, clique, circle, set, party, band, crew, crowd, company

  2. a group of youngsters or adolescents who associate closely, often exclusively, for social reasons, especially such a group engaging in delinquent behavior.
  3. a group of people with compatible tastes or mutual interests who gather together for social reasons:

    I'm throwing a party for the gang I bowl with.

  4. a group of persons working together; squad; shift:

    a gang of laborers.

    Synonyms: team

  5. a group of persons associated for some criminal or other antisocial purpose:

    a gang of thieves.

  6. a set of tools, electronic components or circuits, oars, etc., arranged to work together or simultaneously.
  7. a group of identical or related items.


verb (used with object)

  1. to arrange in groups or sets; form into a gang:

    to gang illustrations for more economical printing on one sheet.

  2. to attack in a gang.

verb (used without object)

  1. to form or act as a gang:

    Cutthroats who gang together hang together.

verb phrase

  1. Informal. (of a number of persons) to unite in opposition to (a person); combine against:

    The bigger boys ganged up on the smaller ones in the schoolyard.

gang

2

[ gang ]

verb (used without object)

, Chiefly Scot. and North England.
  1. to walk or go.

gang

1

/ ɡæŋ /

noun

  1. See gangue
    a variant spelling of gangue


gang

2

/ ɡæŋ /

noun

  1. a group of people who associate together or act as an organized body, esp for criminal or illegal purposes
  2. an organized group of workmen
  3. a herd of buffaloes or elks or a pack of wild dogs
  4. a group of shearers who travel to different shearing sheds, shearing, classing, and baling wool
    1. a series of similar tools arranged to work simultaneously in parallel
    2. ( as modifier )

      a gang saw

verb

  1. to form into, become part of, or act as a gang
  2. tr electronics to mount (two or more components, such as variable capacitors) on the same shaft, permitting adjustment by a single control

gang

3

/ ɡæŋ /

verb

  1. to go

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Derived Forms

  • ganged, adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of gang1

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English gang, gong, Old English gang, gong “manner of going, way, passage”; cognate with Old High German gang, Old Norse gangr, Gothic gagg; gang 2

Origin of gang2

First recorded before 900; Middle English gangen, Old English gangan, gongan; cognate with Old High German gangan, Old Norse ganga, Gothic gaggan; gang 1 (noun derivative from same root)

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Word History and Origins

Origin of gang1

Old English gang journey; related to Old Norse gangr, Old High German gang, Sanskrit jangha foot

Origin of gang2

Old English gangan to go 1

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Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with gang , also see like gangbusters .

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Example Sentences

His research consisted of shadowing a Chicago gang for 10 years, and it yielded valuable insights on the inner workings of the drug trade.

Hur also oversaw the prosecutions of national security threats, gang-related crimes and complex fraud cases — particularly during the pandemic.

In New Orleans, analysts scraped information from social media as well as criminal and gang databases and field interviews by officers, then used the list to target individuals for the city’s gunfire-reduction program.

He lives by the code of Garden Heights, where behavior is dictated by a fraternity of violence and aggression, but isn’t blind to the hypocrisy of gang life.

From Time

Sermon had been shown heading to the locker room after the Buckeyes’ first drive of the game, during which he was gang-tackled by Alabama defenders after a short run.

How do you feel about Archer and the gang abandoning the cartel and returning to the office?

Gang tattoos are still inked onto his face, like scarlet letters.

The End of Gangs By Sam Quinones, Pacific-Standard Los Angeles gave America the modern street gang.

Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said the decline was a result of an effort to decrease gang violence.

Brooklyn musician Bobby Shmurda, whose ‘Shmoney Dance’ went viral, was arrested today on ‘gang conspiracy’ charges, police said.

When Michael needed fresh supplies, he was not long in gathering a gang of harpies about him.

I like sus-sus-pen-sheen bridges that fly from bank to bank, with one big step, like a gang-plank.

He captured two, whom he shot, and burned two or three houses whose owners had been harboring the gang.

So they bore Spotted Snake away with them in the canoe, while the Dogtown gang shrieked farewells from the old landing.

If word reaches the Dangerfield gang about what we're doing, King will never be allowed to reach his destination.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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