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. 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
5. 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

²

/ ɡæŋ /

noun

1. a variant spelling of gangue

gang

³

/ ɡæŋ /

verb

1. to go

Derived Forms

• ganged, adjective

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)

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

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

Mr Walsh is also sceptical of whether people smuggling gangs can be cracked at scale, drawing the comparison of drugs gangs.

From BBC

But he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that working with other countries to intercept people before they reached the coast of France and undermining the business models of smuggling gangs was crucial.

From BBC

The neighbourhood was cordoned off after residents barricaded streets, some armed with machetes and makeshift weapons, in an apparent effort to prevent a gang invasion.

From BBC

Alex Alonso, who has worked as a professor in the Cal State university system and recently taught a class about the history of street gangs, was called by the defense.

From Los Angeles Times

In the 1980s and 1990s, we talked about the need to create institutions to keep kids off the streets and out of gangs.

From Salon

Related Words

• band
• bunch
• clan
• clique
• company
• crew
• organization
• party
• ring
• squad
• syndicate
• team
• tribe
• troop