gin

¹ American  

[jin] / dʒɪn /

noun

1. an alcoholic liquor obtained by distilling grain mash with juniper berries.

2. an alcoholic liquor similar to this, made by redistilling spirits with flavoring agents, especially juniper berries, orange peel, angelica root, etc.

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gin ² American  

[jin] / dʒɪn /

noun

1. cotton gin.

   Did Whitney's invention of the gin actually enable an expansion in the slave trade?

2. a trap or snare for game.

   They learned how to devise a simple gin for catching rabbits and quail and such.

3. 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.

4. 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.

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verb (used with object)

ginned, ginning

1. to clear (cotton) of seeds with a gin.

   The weather's fine today for ginning cotton.

2. to snare (game).

   Hey! Looks like you ginned a woodcock.

gin ³ American  

[gin] / gɪn /

verb (used with or without object)

gan, gun, ginning

1. Archaic. to begin.

   At twilight, gin we our leave.

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gin ⁴ American  

[jin] / dʒɪn /

noun

1. Also called gin rummy.  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.

2. 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.

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verb (used without object)

ginned, ginning

1. 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?

gin ⁵ American  

[gin] / gɪn /

conjunction

Chiefly Scot. and Southern Appalachian.

1. if; whether.

   It's a beast of a river to cross, gin ye dare.

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gin ⁶ American  

[jin] / dʒɪn /

Or jin

noun

Australian Informal: Offensive.

1. an Aboriginal woman.

2. an Aboriginal wife.

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gin ¹ British  

/ dʒɪn /

noun

1. a primitive engine in which a vertical shaft is turned by horses driving a horizontal beam or yoke in a circle

2. Also called: cotton gin.  a machine of this type used for separating seeds from raw cotton

3. a trap for catching small mammals, consisting of a noose of thin strong wire

4. a hand-operated hoist that consists of a drum winder turned by a crank

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verb

1. to free (cotton) of seeds with a gin

2. to trap or snare (game) with a gin

gin ² British  

/ dʒɪn /

noun

1. an alcoholic drink obtained by distillation and rectification of the grain of malted barley, rye, or maize, flavoured with juniper berries

2. any of various grain spirits flavoured with other fruit or aromatic essences

   sloe gin

3. an alcoholic drink made from any rectified spirit

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gin ³ British  

/ ɡɪn /

verb

1. an archaic word for begin

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gin ⁴ British  

/ ɡɪn /

conjunction

1. if

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gin ⁵ British  

/ dʒɪn /

noun

1. offensive an Aboriginal woman

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Other Word Forms

• ginner
  noun

Etymology

Origin of gin¹

First recorded in 1705–15; shortened from geneva, alteration of Dutch genever “gin,” literally “juniper” (because the liquor was flavored with juniper berries), from Old French genevre “juniper plant,” from assumed Vulgar Latin jeniperus, from Latin juniperus

Origin of gin²

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English gyn, shortened variant of Old French engin “innate quality, clever invention”; see origin at engine

Origin of gin³

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English ginnen, Old English ginnan, shortened variant of onginnan, beginnen “to begin”; see begin

Origin of gin⁴

First recorded in 1955–60; perhaps special use of gin ¹, a shortening of the variant gin rummy, recorded in 1940–45

Origin of gin⁵

First recorded in 1665–75; variously explained as sense development of gien “given” ( see gie, -en ³); as contraction of gif ( see if, an ²; cf. iffen); or as a shortening of again

Origin of gin⁶

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Dharuk di-yin, diyin “woman, old woman”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gin gan ginned ginning gun

Eastside Girls, meanwhile, is a tender depiction of Muna's neighbourhood, lovingly lampooning the staples of LA hipster culture – astrology, polyamory, roommate dramas and "negronis with the nice gin".

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

But the silence has catalyzed non-Swiftie onlookers to gin up something decisively, inarguably odious to place at the singer’s feet.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

“It’s too late now to gin up something to harm a competitor,” Bill Savitt, a lawyer for OpenAI, had argued in his opening statement.

From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026

Those inventions ranged from the cotton gin to bluejeans, bypass surgery to the dishwasher, and, yes, even Post-it Notes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

When I crossed the highway at the edge of town, the pavement turned to gravel, and I crunched along about a mile past the cotton gin until I came to the Rydells’ beat-up shack.

From "Mississippi Trial, 1955" by Chris Crowe

Along the way, I acquired some new words in Korean, like bangsaneung for radiation and gan for liver.

From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2023

Datganiad o gefnogaeth gan yr Urdd i ffoaduriaid Wcráin.

From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2022

Then there’s the city’s signature dish, hot dry noodles, or re gan mian.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2020

Then the cousin laughed and they gan bei-ed.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 11, 2019

Ron was now staring at Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on his face; Seamus Linni- gan and Dean Thomas, who were sitting in front, were shaking with silent laughter.

From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling

Residents filled town-hall meetings, posted signs on their properties, held fundraisers and ginned up social-media campaigns to oppose the seizure.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025

McCartney, 15, ginned up the courage to approach Lennon after his set; their bond was forged over a mutual passion for Little Richard and Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2025

Spotify users who have been amused by these thrice-daily servings of word salad might be surprised — or, just as likely, not — to learn that the playlist names are ginned up by A.I.

From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2024

No drop of human drama hasn’t been ginned.

From Salon ● Nov. 28, 2023

White suspected that Hale had ginned up the document while trying to obtain the insurance policy, and altered it after realizing that he had blundered on the date.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

It refers to ginning up the gene pool through tools like gene editing and A.I. enhancement, the argument being that manipulating genes can make us better, faster, smarter.

From Slate ● Mar. 19, 2026

They complained Bovino’s tactics were unnecessarily aggressive, ginning up opposition that put agents at higher risk.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026

Meanwhile, Horowitz and Inciardi started ginning up alternate stories of how Sanders got hold of the manuscripts, Manhattan prosecutors say.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2024

The orchestra was just being factual in ginning up a little excitement at a climactic moment in the six-decade career of one of the most eminent figures in classical music.

From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2023

He had built up the ginning enterprise himself and overseen it through this seasonal spasm of mad activity for thirty years; he no longer had the slightest interest or obligation.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

Sheriff’s deputies discovered the man had brought a gun and ammunition to the golf course.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

Financials had been under the gun for most of the past year, and when compared with the S&P 500, they had reached a historic low in early June.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 2, 2026

German armsmaker Rheinmetall on Wednesday reported record profit as the tank gun maker cashes in on Europe's rearmament drive.

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Ultimately, he suggests that governments may be "jumping the gun", citing a need for a balance between privacy and security concerns.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

“Nearby there was a German machine gun unit giving our troops a lot of trouble,” he remembered.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

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