gait

American  

[geyt] / geɪt /

noun

1. a manner of walking, stepping, or running.

   Synonyms:

   carriage , bearing , stride , step , walk

2. any of the manners in which a horse moves, as a walk, trot, canter, gallop, or rack.

---

verb (used with object)

1. to teach a specified gait or gaits to (a horse).

gait British  

/ ɡeɪt /

noun

1. manner of walking or running; bearing

2. (used esp of horses and dogs) the pattern of footsteps at various speeds, as the walk, trot, canter, etc, each pattern being distinguished by a particular rhythm and footfall

---

verb

1. (tr) to teach (a horse) a particular gait

Usage

What does gait mean? Gait means the way a person or animal walks or runs.Gait is often used in the context of horses and show dogs when analyzing how they walk, trot, and run. The human gait is studied in medicine and in sports like running. Gait can also be used as a verb meaning to teach a horse a particular gait.Example: You can tell that his gait is affected by a limp.

Etymology

Origin of gait

1500–10; Scots, Middle English spelling variant of gate ¹ in various senses

Example Sentences

Bower also wore foam inserts under his arms to capture the gait and broad stance of the creature.

From Los Angeles Times

Along with others, I noticed his unsteady gait.

From Salon

“Predator: Badlands” has a misshapen gait to it, like a comedy skit drawn out to feature length.

From Los Angeles Times

At MDVIP, a nationwide network of more than 1,400 concierge doctors, patients are typically screened for grip strength and gait speed, metrics of well-being that insurers typically don’t cover.

From Barron's

His gait, his stance — whatever White’s process was to get there, it was worth it.

From Salon

Related Words

• bearing