gauntlet

¹ American  

[gawnt-lit, gahnt-] / ˈgɔnt lɪt, ˈgɑnt- /

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.

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idioms

1. 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.

2. throw down the gauntlet / glove,

   1. to challenge.

   2. to defy.

gauntlet ² American  

[gawnt-lit, gahnt-] / ˈgɔnt lɪt, ˈgɑnt- /

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.

5. gantlet.

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verb (used with object)

1. gantlet.

idioms

1. run the gauntlet, to suffer severe criticism or tribulation.

gauntlet ¹ British  

/ 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. 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

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gauntlet ² British  

/ ˈɡɔːntlɪt /

noun

1. a medieval armoured leather glove

2. a heavy glove with a long cuff

3. to accept a challenge

4. to offer a challenge

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gauntlet More Idioms  

1. see run the gauntlet; throw down the gauntlet.

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Other Word Forms

• gauntleted adjective
• ungauntleted adjective

Etymology

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

Example Sentences

Yet before she can truly represent both the queen of the underworld and goddess of spring, Moreno must first survive the gauntlet that is the New York winter.

From Los Angeles Times

To sum up this latest Premier League weekend, Manchester City threw down the gauntlet by closing the gap to two points with a tension-filled win against Newcastle United.

From BBC

Buster Murdaugh was married last spring to Brooklyn White, who’d held his hand every morning of the trial as he walked the gauntlet of photographers outside the courthouse.

From The Wall Street Journal

Starrs became CEO in October and ran the gauntlet of an earnings report and post-results call with analysts for the first time on Tuesday.

From MarketWatch

Michael Livingston, a professor of medieval history at the Citadel, previously picked up that gauntlet with books offering new interpretations of Agincourt and of Edward III of England’s victory at Crécy in 1346.

From The Wall Street Journal