gin
1an alcoholic liquor obtained by distilling grain mash with juniper berries.
an alcoholic liquor similar to this, made by redistilling spirits with flavoring agents, especially juniper berries, orange peel, angelica root, etc.
Origin of gin
1Words that may be confused with gin
- gin , jinn
Other definitions for gin (2 of 6)
cotton gin: Did Whitney's invention of the gin actually enable an expansion in the slave trade?
a trap or snare for game: They learned how to devise a simple gin for catching rabbits and quail and such.
any of various machines employing simple tackle or windlass mechanisms for hoisting: She finished developing her father's design of a gin that would facilitate safer movement of large parts in the manufacturing plant.
a stationary prime mover having a drive shaft rotated by horizontal beams pulled by horses walking in a circle: The gins were activated by teams of horses to power the pulley system that hauled the coal out of the mines.
to clear (cotton) of seeds with a gin: The weather's fine today for ginning cotton.
to snare (game): Hey! Looks like you ginned a woodcock.
Origin of gin
2Other words from gin
- ginner, noun
Other definitions for gin (3 of 6)
Archaic. to begin: At twilight, gin we our leave.
Origin of gin
3Other definitions for gin (4 of 6)
Also called gin rum·my [jin-ruhm-ee] /ˈdʒɪn ˈrʌm i/ . a variety of rummy for two players, in which a player with 10 or fewer points in unmatched cards can end the game by laying down the hand: They get together ever Tuesday for a friendly game of gin.
the winning of such a game by laying down a full set of matched cards, earning the winner a bonus of 20 or 25 points: Sorry, but that's gin for me again.
to win a game in gin by laying down a hand in which all 10 cards are included in sets: How many times has she ginned tonight?
Origin of gin
4Other definitions for gin (5 of 6)
if; whether: It's a beast of a river to cross, gin ye dare.
Origin of gin
5Other definitions for gin (6 of 6)
or jin
an Aboriginal woman.
an Aboriginal wife.
Origin of gin
6Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use gin in a sentence
The old-time "foot-gins" were used exclusively, and the gin-house was a place of curious interest to all visitors.
What with the great heat succeeding to the great cold, and the great supper the gins gave him, Jem fell fast asleep.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend | Charles ReadeThe chief was soon asleep, but not till he had ordered his gins to wake him the moment the snow should be melted.
It Is Never Too Late to Mend | Charles ReadeSaw mills, grist mills, and cotton gins, are either erecting or erected throughout the country.
The Indian in his Wigwam | Henry R. SchoolcraftWhitney secured a patent upon his machine, but, unmindful of that, a great many persons began to make cotton gins.
American Inventions and Inventors | William A. Mowry
British Dictionary definitions for gin (1 of 5)
/ (dʒɪn) /
an alcoholic drink obtained by distillation and rectification of the grain of malted barley, rye, or maize, flavoured with juniper berries
any of various grain spirits flavoured with other fruit or aromatic essences: sloe gin
an alcoholic drink made from any rectified spirit
Origin of gin
1British Dictionary definitions for gin (2 of 5)
/ (dʒɪn) /
a primitive engine in which a vertical shaft is turned by horses driving a horizontal beam or yoke in a circle
Also called: cotton gin a machine of this type used for separating seeds from raw cotton
a trap for catching small mammals, consisting of a noose of thin strong wire
a hand-operated hoist that consists of a drum winder turned by a crank
to free (cotton) of seeds with a gin
to trap or snare (game) with a gin
Origin of gin
2Derived forms of gin
- ginner, noun
British Dictionary definitions for gin (3 of 5)
/ (ɡɪn) /
British Dictionary definitions for gin (4 of 5)
/ (ɡɪn) /
Scot if
Origin of gin
4British Dictionary definitions for gin (5 of 5)
/ (dʒɪn) /
Australian offensive, slang an Aboriginal woman
Origin of gin
5Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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