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View synonyms for gauntlet

gauntlet

1

[ gawnt-lit, gahnt- ]

noun

  1. a medieval glove, as of mail or plate, worn by a knight in armor to protect the hand.
  2. a glove with an extended cuff for the wrist.
  3. the cuff itself.


gauntlet

2

[ gawnt-lit, gahnt- ]

noun

  1. a former punishment, chiefly military, in which the offender was made to run between two rows of men who struck at him with switches or weapons as he passed.
  2. the two rows of men administering this punishment.
  3. an attack from two or all sides.
  4. trying conditions; an ordeal.

verb (used with object)

gauntlet

1

/ ˈɡɔːntlɪt /

noun

  1. a punishment in which the victim is forced to run between two rows of men who strike at him as he passes: formerly a military punishment
  2. run the gauntlet
    run the gauntlet
    1. to suffer this punishment
    2. to endure an onslaught or ordeal, as of criticism
  3. a testing ordeal; trial
  4. a variant spelling of gantlet 1


gauntlet

2

/ ˈɡɔːntlɪt /

noun

  1. a medieval armoured leather glove
  2. a heavy glove with a long cuff
  3. take up the gauntlet
    take up the gauntlet to accept a challenge
  4. throw down the gauntlet
    throw down the gauntlet to offer a challenge

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Other Words From

  • gauntlet·ed adjective
  • un·gauntlet·ed adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of gauntlet1

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English gauntelet, gauntlet, from Old French gantelet, diminutive of gant “glove,” from Germanic want- (unrecorded); compare Old Norse vǫttr

Origin of gauntlet2

First recorded in 1670–80; alteration of gantlope

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Word History and Origins

Origin of gauntlet1

C15: changed (through influence of gauntlet 1) from earlier gantlope; see gantlet 1

Origin of gauntlet2

C15: from Old French gantelet, diminutive of gant glove, of Germanic origin

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. run the gauntlet, to suffer severe criticism or tribulation.
  2. take up the gauntlet / glove,
    1. to accept a challenge to fight:

      He was always willing to take up the gauntlet for a good cause.

    2. to show one's defiance.
  3. throw down the gauntlet / glove,
    1. to challenge.
    2. to defy.

More idioms and phrases containing gauntlet

see run the gauntlet ; throw down the gauntlet .

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Example Sentences

Both cases, you’ve got to run through this gauntlet of regulations.

“The politics of the situation here is that this is Paytm throwing down the gauntlet to Google,” Medianama notes.

From Fortune

Which means SaaS and cloud companies have made it through a somewhat steep gauntlet largely unscathed.

Two teams are competing for the chance to go through that gauntlet to get the deal.

If I’m going, it’s not to say, “Look, we’re throwing down the gauntlet, and this is now a purely adversarial relationship.”

The Infinity Stones are six magical stones that, when inserted into the Infinity Gauntlet, grant the wearer infinite power.

If she sat out 2016, the odds on favorite would probably be another veteran of the primary gauntlet, Vice President Joe Biden.

This group of men had formed an angry gauntlet in front of the clinic.

He may have reservations about going through that [gauntlet] drill again.

Students who survive the gauntlet and make it into college face a whole new set of challenges.

He saw Black Hood's gauntlet gloved hand closed on the handle of the knife that was thrust into Joseph's neck.

Black Hood slapped him hard across the side of the face with his gauntlet covered hand.

It showed Black Hood's gauntlet covered right hand grasping the knife that was plunged into Joseph's throat.

He had run the gauntlet through rows of pointed steel, and now new horrors awaited him.

Go either way, and he in the majority of instances must run the gauntlet of the slave states.

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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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