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  • gable
    gable
    noun
    the portion of the front or side of a building enclosed by or masking the end of a pitched roof.
  • Gable
    Gable
    noun
    (William) Clark, 1901–60, U.S. film actor.
Synonyms

gable

1 American  
[gey-buhl] / ˈgeɪ bəl /

noun

Architecture.
  1. the portion of the front or side of a building enclosed by or masking the end of a pitched roof.

  2. a decorative member suggesting a gable, used especially in Gothic architecture.

  3. Also called gable wall.  a wall bearing a gable.


Gable 2 American  
[gey-buhl] / ˈgeɪ bəl /

noun

  1. (William) Clark, 1901–60, U.S. film actor.


gable 1 British  
/ ˈɡeɪbəl /

noun

  1. the triangular upper part of a wall between the sloping ends of a pitched roof ( gable roof )

  2. a triangular ornamental feature in the form of a gable, esp as used over a door or window

  3. the triangular wall on both ends of a gambrel roof

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Gable 2 British  
/ ˈɡeɪbəl /

noun

  1. ( William ) Clark. 1901–60, US film actor. His films include It Happened One Night (1934), San Francisco (1936), Gone with the Wind (1939), Mogambo (1953), and The Misfits (1960)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of gable

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Old French (of Germanic origin); cognate with Old Norse gafl; compare Old English gafol, geafel “a fork”

Explanation

A gable is the triangular part of a house's exterior wall that supports a pointed or peaked roof. Gothic-style houses are well known for their many gables. Houses and buildings with pitched roofs have front-facing or side-facing gables — or often, both. The shape and structure of these pointed gables help support a house's roof and give the building a particular architectural style. Nathaniel Hawthorne famously wrote about a building with this architectural feature in The House of the Seven Gables. Gable, originally an Old French word meaning "facade or front," is from the Old Norse gafl, "gable-end," or "gable."

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing gable

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.

Years later, co-star Shirley Jones said Sinatra actually quit to be with his wife, Ava Gardner, who had threatened to have an affair with Clark Gable.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

The academy, previously named Ortu Gable Hall School under its former administration, was rated "inadequate" by Ofsted in its most recent inspection in May 2022.

From BBC • Dec. 9, 2025

His office is full of memorabilia from his own projects mixed with photos of Old Hollywood, including one signed by George Burns and a portrait of Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe from “The Misfits.”

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 24, 2025

It used to be a hotel rumored to have ties to Clark Gable, and all of the 100-year-old architectural details are original.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2025

The movie star Clark Gable visited the hotel, and I once got to meet a duke and duchess from England.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson