gallery

[ gal-uh-ree, gal-ree ]

noun

, plural gal·ler·ies.

1. a raised area, often having a stepped or sloping floor, in a theater, church, or other public building to accommodate spectators, exhibits, etc.
2. the uppermost of such areas in a theater, usually containing the cheapest seats.
3. the occupants of such an area in a theater.
4. the general public, especially when regarded as having popular or uncultivated tastes.
5. any group of spectators or observers, as at a golf match, a Congressional session, etc.
6. a room, series of rooms, or building devoted to the exhibition and often the sale of works of art.
7. a long covered area, narrow and open at one or both sides, used especially as a walk or corridor.
8. Chiefly South Atlantic States. a long porch or portico; veranda.
9. a long, relatively narrow room, especially one for public use.
10. a corridor, especially one having architectural importance through its scale or decorative treatment.
11. a raised, balconylike platform or passageway running along the exterior wall of a building inside or outside.
12. a large room or building used for photography, target practice, or other special purposes:

    a shooting gallery.

13. a collection of art for exhibition.
14. Theater. a narrow, raised platform located beyond the acting area, used by stagehands or technicians to stand on when working.
15. Nautical. a projecting balcony or structure on the quarter or stern of a vessel.
16. Furniture. an ornamental railing or cresting surrounding the top of a table, stand, desk, etc.
17. Mining. a level or drift.
18. a small tunnel in a dam, mine, or rock, for various purposes, as inspection or drainage.
19. a passageway made by an animal.
20. Fortification Obsolete. an underground or covered passage to another part of a fortified position.

gallery

/ ˈɡælərɪ /

noun

1. a room or building for exhibiting works of art
2. See colonnade
   a covered passageway open on one side or on both sides See also colonnade
3. 1. a balcony running along or around the inside wall of a church, hall, etc
   2. a covered balcony, sometimes with columns on the outside
4. theatre
   1. an upper floor that projects from the rear over the main floor and contains the cheapest seats
   2. the seats there
   3. the audience seated there
5. a long narrow room, esp one used for a specific purpose

   a shooting gallery

6. a building or room where articles are sold at auction
7. an underground passage, as in a mine, the burrow of an animal, etc
8. theatre a narrow raised platform at the side or along the back of the stage for the use of technicians and stagehands
9. (in a TV studio) a glass-fronted soundproof room high up to one side of the studio looking into it. One gallery is used by the director and an assistant and one is for lighting, etc
10. nautical a balcony or platform at the quarter or stern of a ship, sometimes used as a gun emplacement
11. a small ornamental metal or wooden balustrade or railing on a piece of furniture, esp one surrounding the top of a desk, table, etc
12. any group of spectators, as at a golf match
13. play to the gallery
    play to the gallery to try to gain popular favour, esp by crude appeals

Other Words From

• galler·ied adjective
• galler·y·like adjective
• un·galler·ied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of gallery¹

1400–50; late Middle English < Old French galerie < Medieval Latin galeria, by dissimilation or suffix replacement from galilea, galilæa galilee

Word History and Origins

Origin of gallery¹

C15: from Old French galerie, from Medieval Latin galeria, probably from galilea galilee , a porch or chapel at entrance to medieval church

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. play to the gallery, to attempt to appeal to the popular taste, as opposed to a more refined or esoteric taste:

   Movies, though still playing mainly to the gallery, have taken their place as a significant art form.

More idioms and phrases containing gallery

see play to the gallery ; rogues' gallery .

Example Sentences

The Clark, located on the fringe of Williams College in the Berkshires, combines a distinguished set of galleries with a major research institute and a conservation center.

From Washington Post

The photo galleries and “mindless ads” served by Taboola at the bottom of many publishers’ pages are “not the best user experience,” the second executive said.

From Digiday

To the left of the main gallery is a model sun flanked by globes, also motion-activated.

From Washington Post

“The idea is pretty simple — anyone is welcome to leave a piece, take a piece or just have a look around and enjoy what’s inside,” said Milrany, a painter who runs a small, appointment-only gallery featuring her works.

From Washington Post

Scroll through the gallery to see 10 celebrity couples who played it cool before going public.

From Essence.com

Promo shots for Dee Dee King, taken by famed rock photographer Bob Gruen, are also on display at the Storefront Gallery.

From The Daily Beast

Dee Dee candles, rosaries, shirts and prints are offered for sale near the gallery's door as a kind of consolation.

From The Daily Beast

But my favorites, and by far the most intimate photos at the gallery, are by Jimmy Steinfeld.

From The Daily Beast

GALLERY: 'JUSTICE FOR ALL' MARCH IN WASHINGTON DC There were plenty of representatives of the fringe too.

From The Daily Beast

In London it is located in the Duveen Gallery where half the extant marbles sit under white light as if in a morgue.

From The Daily Beast

Many of these have been seen in the Corcoran Art Gallery and in other public exhibitions.

From Project Gutenberg

Pedro flew to obey his lady, and she proceeded along the gallery to the apartment of her guest.

From Project Gutenberg

I knew then that there was not an instant to be lost, and like a flash I darted along the gallery and down the stairs.

From Project Gutenberg

Then in the large parish churches the quartet of singers in the west gallery where the organ was placed had been abolished.

From Project Gutenberg

An oak gallery runs round two sides of the hall and descends in broad and gentle stairs down the right side of it.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• exhibit
• hall
• museum
• salon
• showroom
• studio