gage
noun
something, as a glove, thrown down by a medieval knight in token of challenge to combat.
gage
1 American
[gayj]
/ geɪdʒ /
noun
-
something, as a glove, thrown down by a medieval knight in token of challenge to combat.
-
Archaic. a challenge.
-
Archaic. a pledge or pawn; security.
verb (used with object)
-
gages,
present (3rd person singular)
-
gaged,
past participle, past
-
gaging
present participle
gage
2
American
[gayj]
/ geɪdʒ /
noun
gaged,
gaging
gage
3
American
[gayj]
/ geɪdʒ /
noun
Gage
4
American
[gayj]
/ geɪdʒ /
noun
gage
1
British
/ ɡeɪdʒ /
noun
-
something deposited as security against the fulfilment of an obligation; pledge
-
(formerly) a glove or other object thrown down to indicate a challenge to combat
verb
Gage
2
British
/ ɡeɪdʒ /
noun
gage
3
British
/ ɡeɪdʒ /
noun
gage
4
British
/ ɡeɪdʒ /
noun
gage
5
British
/ ɡeɪdʒ /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gagesimple
-
gagessimple
-
have gagedperfect
-
has gagedperfect
-
am gagingprogressive
-
are gagingprogressive
-
is gagingprogressive
-
have been gagingperfect progressive
-
has been gagingperfect progressive
Past
-
gagedsimple
-
had gagedperfect
-
was gagingprogressive
-
were gagingprogressive
-
had been gagingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gage1
First recorded in 1450–1500; late Middle English, from Old French g(u)age, from Germanic; compare Gothic wadi “a pledge”; cf. wage
Origin of gage3
First recorded in 1840–50; by shortening
Explanation
A gage is an instrument for measuring, like the gas gage in your car that tells you it's time to fill 'er up. It's also spelled "gauge." As a verb, to gage is to place a bet. As a noun, it's something thrown down, like a glove you chuck at someone and challenge them to a duel. As a way of measuring, a gage can refer to the thickness of a needle or a shotgun. You don't need an instrument, though, you might gage how much time you have left outside by looking at the sun. Sticklers use gauge for measuring and gage for duels and bets.
Vocabulary lists containing gage
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:
At one point, the gage measurement on that stretch of the river reached below three inches.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
The river gage shows the river may reach 192.58 feet The Chehalis Basin Flood Authority has flood inundation maps & river gages for the region on its website.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2022
As Surrey, he trilled his tongue daringly as he threw down a gage; as a gossiping gardener, he exclaimed a comical “Whaaaaaaaat? Think you the King shall be deposed?”
From New York Times ● Jul. 17, 2020
To gage social compatibility: “Can I picture myself in all of these photos standing next to him?”
From Slate ● Dec. 24, 2019
"I will take up the gage, if it please the king."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
“We have reviewed the matter and confirmed that AI was used to alter the image in violation of university policy,” Stanford spokesperson Charlene Gage said in an email.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2026
Gage looks less mobile as he woodenly directs our attention to the skirmish in the background.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 13, 2026
Ms. Gage rightly contends that this region deserves more renown than it often gets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 1, 2026
“This was a tragedy when Houston was paralyzed, a tragedy when he was killed and a tragedy with the verdict today,” Gage said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 19, 2026
Gage took Hunt and Olmsted by the arm and led the way from the Club’s reception room to the banquet hall.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
His characters are en gaged in a relentless search to figure out what it is they want from a prosaic life; that too was Pavese.
From Time Magazine Archive
Obviously, the U.S. was using as a "cover" the story that the U-2 was en gaged in weather-reconnaissance work.
From Time Magazine Archive
Ex-Ambassador Bullitt pointed to one difficulty: "The state of mind here today is about what it was in France a year before they en gaged in war with Germany."
From Time Magazine Archive
Years ago they established the crank school of economics ; latterly they have founded the tirade school of journalism; they are now en gaged in popularizing the ostrich school of strategy.
From Time Magazine Archive
But the young Indian had gaged his distance well.
From The Heart of the Desert Kut-Le of the Desert by Honoré Morrow
"It changes the atmosphere when a heckler goes too far, but it really is about gaging, do the people around me want me to keep going?"
From BBC ● Feb. 14, 2025
It’s just a matter of talking through it and gaging the draft and the people that are coming up and who’s available.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 2, 2014
The most gaging comment of all came from near the base of the famed extinct volcano Fujiyama, where a reporter interviewed extinct Foreign Minister Yosuke Matsuoka.
From Time Magazine Archive
One hesitates to call an opponent of marriage en gaging, but Germaine Greer is certainly that.
From Time Magazine Archive
This bottle serves the purpose of a standard for gaging the jars.
From Elements of Chemistry, In a New Systematic Order, Containing all the Modern Discoveries by Antoine Lavoisier
The river gage shows the river may reach 192.58 feet The Chehalis Basin Flood Authority has flood inundation maps & river gages for the region on its website.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 7, 2022
According to stream gages, as much as 58 percent of the water in the Gunnison River — a prominent Colorado River tributary — comes not from snowpack on the peaks above but from groundwater.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 20, 2015
It would also raise the funding for stream gages, which monitor water levels and collect other data, by $7.2 million.
From Science Magazine ● Apr. 12, 2013
Readings have come in from deep ocean gages deployed since the 2004 tsunami in Banda Acha in Japan and around Wake Island.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 11, 2011
Everybody began attending to the paraphernalia of a challenge, the usual sealing of the gages with signets and so on, and the fixing of the date.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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