gung-ho
adjective
wholeheartedly enthusiastic and loyal; eager; zealous.
gung-ho
American
[guhng-hoh]
/ ˈgʌŋˈhoʊ /
adjective
adverb
gung ho
British
/ ɡʌŋ həʊ /
adjective
-
extremely enthusiastic and enterprising, sometimes to excess
-
extremely keen to participate in military combat
gung-ho
Cultural
gung ho
Idioms
Etymology
Origin of gung-ho
Introduced as a training slogan in 1942 by U.S. Marine officer Evans F. Carlson (1896–1947), from Chinese gōng hé, the abbreviated name of the Chinese Industrial Cooperative Society, taken by a literal translation as “work together”
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"You've always been a bit gung-ho with your guitars," Gallagher said, reminiscing about borrowing the instrument - a black 1982 Rickenbacker 330 Jetglo - to appear on the cover of Oasis' 1994 debut single Supersonic.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
The season started with Liverpool looking gung-ho and wide open.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
Mr. Trump, focused on the nuclear program, was presumed to be less gung-ho about addressing the conventional missile threat.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 29, 2025
Not all of the younger generation of Robleses is as gung-ho about the family business as their parents are.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 18, 2025
It was weird how responsible he felt for the other two: plaintive, pitiful, confused Chip; naïve, gung-ho, enthusiastic Katherine.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Scott Camil talks about starting out anti-Communist and gung ho; he then came home from Vietnam, heard Jane Fonda speak and was transformed into an antiwar activist who publicly testified about atrocities he had committed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2025
Other researchers are less gung ho about such heady prospects.
From Scientific American ● Aug. 10, 2023
“Consistent with my own push for statehood, of course I was gung ho about giving this authority back to the District,” she said.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 31, 2021
If investors were feeling gung ho, they’d likely be piling into areas of the market closely tied to the strength of the economy, which are known as “cyclical” stocks.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 28, 2019
“I just wish you weren’t so gung ho about it. If I didn’t know you better, I’d say there was some human blood in you.”
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
