gall
noun
gall
1 American
[gawl]
/ gɔl /
gall
2
American
[gawl]
/ gɔl /
verb (used with object)
galls,
present (3rd person singular)
galled,
past participle, past
galling
present participle
-
to vex or irritate greatly.
His arrogant manner galls me.
-
to make sore by rubbing; chafe severely.
The saddle galled the horse's back.
verb (used without object)
galls,
present (3rd person singular)
galled,
past participle, past
galling
present participle
-
to be or become chafed.
-
Machinery. (of either of two engaging metal parts) to lose metal to the other because of heat or molecular attraction resulting from friction.
-
Metallurgy. (of a die or compact in powder metallurgy) to lose surface material through adhesion to the die.
noun
-
something very vexing or irritating.
-
a state of vexation or irritation.
-
a sore on the skin, especially of a horse, due to rubbing; excoriation.
gall
3
American
[gawl]
/ gɔl /
noun
Gall
4
American
[gawl]
/ gɔl /
noun
gall
1
British
/ ɡɔːl /
noun
-
a sore on the skin caused by chafing
-
something that causes vexation or annoyance
a gall to the spirits
-
irritation; exasperation
verb
-
pathol to abrade (the skin, etc) as by rubbing
-
(tr) to irritate or annoy; vex
gall
2
British
/ ɡɔːl /
noun
-
informal impudence
-
bitterness; rancour
-
something bitter or disagreeable
-
physiol an obsolete term for bile 1
-
an obsolete term for gall bladder
gall
3
British
/ ɡɔːl /
noun
gall.
4
British
abbreviation
gall
Scientific
/ gôl /
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gallsimple
-
gallssimple
-
have galledperfect
-
has galledperfect
-
am gallingprogressive
-
are gallingprogressive
-
is gallingprogressive
-
have been gallingperfect progressive
-
has been gallingperfect progressive
Past
-
galledsimple
-
had galledperfect
-
was gallingprogressive
-
were gallingprogressive
-
had been gallingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gall1
First recorded before 900; Middle English galle, gal “gallbladder; bitter taste; rancor; poison,” Old English gealla “bile”; cognate with German Galle; akin to Latin fel, Greek cholḗ, chólos “gall, bile”; gall 2 ( def. )
Origin of gall2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English gal(l)e, gaul(e) “sore (on the skin); stain, impurity; barren spot (in a field),” Old English gealla “an abrasion or sore (on a horse)”; possibly from Latin galla “nutgall”; possibly the same as gall 1 ( def. ), the senses developing from “bile” to “poison” to “(poisonous) sore” to “stain”; gall 3 ( def. )
Origin of gall3
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English galle, from Middle French, from Latin galla “gallnut”; see gall 2
Explanation
Gall describes something irritating, like someone very rude. If you barge into a bakery and cut in front of a sweet old lady, then you have gall. If someone has gall, they're irritating. In fact, as a verb, gall means "to irritate" like new tight jeans that gall your thighs. Gall is "bile," too, like what's in a gall bladder. Back in the days of Hippocrates, if the four humors of the body were out of whack, it affected your spirits. If you had too much bile, or gall, then you'd be aggressive or depressed. It's also a noun for "deep feeling of ill will."
Vocabulary lists containing gall
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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A Raisin in the Sun
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Stump Speech: Tree Terminology
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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:
“That young man had the gall to say, ‘You played hacky sack?’” the 46-year-old laughed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
And then he has the gall to justify his expenses by saying that we do need two cars.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2025
She had half her pancreas, bile duct and gall bladder removed, along with part of her gut and stomach.
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2025
Yet the group’s website has the gall to show both their photos, along with the phrase “Great minds think alike.”
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2024
"The gall of them, fight-ing back. Ordinarily I'd be glad to punish such rudeness, Father, but the truth is, I have pressing business else-where."
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Sandy McCook, chairman of Nethy Community Council, said he had witnessed a "major flare-up" on Mam Suim, Craig nan Gall and into Strath Nethy on Thursday evening.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The fall in exports to both China and the United States "is causing massive overcapacity across the entire German automotive industry," said EY auto industry expert Constantin M. Gall.
From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026
Mr. Gall was well known in France, and was an international personality in the theater world, said Vincent Sarrou, an associate auctioneer at Tessier & Sarrou & Associés, the house that obtained the estate.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2024
Gall said future studies on this subject will focus on additional surfaces common indoors and cleaning techniques to reduce PAHs, as well as work to understand the extent of possible health impacts from exposure.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 2, 2024
“Happy to. Gall my office; as soon as I can get you in, I will.”
From "As Brave As You" by Jason Reynolds
"You laugh. You. Now that is gall. You fight like a hedgehog ..." "There was a knight once who couldn't see," Bran said stubbornly, as Ser Rodrik went on below.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Wax Finishing.—Take ½ gall. of turpentine, 1½ lb. yellow beeswax, 1 lb. white beeswax, ½ lb. white rosin.
From French Polishing and Enamelling A Practical Work of Instruction by Bitmead, Richard
Take 1/2 gall. of skimmed milk, 6 ozs. of lime newly slaked, 4 ozs. of poppy, linseed, or nut-oil, and 3 lbs. of Spanish white.
From Young's Demonstrative Translation of Scientific Secrets by Young, Daniel
For the commonest kind of work in black walnut a very cheap polish can be made in the following manner: Take 1 gall. of turpentine, 2 lb. pulverised asphaltum, 1 qt. boiled linseed-oil, 2 oz.
From French Polishing and Enamelling A Practical Work of Instruction by Bitmead, Richard
One gall. makes 51 galls. sufficient for 160 to 200 square yards.
From Roses and Rose Growing by Kingsley, Rose Georgina
What galls her is that “it’s so often the case that a person with a disability has to make themselves indigent in order to qualify for what they need,” Smith said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2024
But as much as it galls me to admit it, these gems don't always hold up to adult scrutiny.
From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2022
Eiseman was familiar with galls long before writing his first book, particularly the common ones referred to as “oak apples,” for their large size and roughly spherical shape.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 2, 2022
They may be leaf mines or galls — and that’s a good thing.
From New York Times ● Sep. 29, 2022
Alum, lime, oak galls, urine, ashes, tallow, and stale beer — these are the tools of my trade.
From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz
Many were particularly galled about a provision in the U.S. plan that extended amnesty for actions taken by all parties during the war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025
The Miss America tragic brag that it was the single biggest source of scholarship money for women in the United States always galled me to the gills.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 25, 2023
The block on calls using the popular WhatsApp, FaceTime and Skype applications has particularly galled UAE residents who were separated from families and friends by restrictions during the pandemic.
From Reuters ● Sep. 29, 2021
But many in the administration were galled by claims that they had failed to take aggressive action to stop evictions.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2021
The army was mutinous; the factory workers galled; inflation ran amok.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
The loss of Shazeer is particularly galling as it is the second time he has left Google.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
And that’s not even the most galling part.
From Slate ● May 19, 2026
Even more galling for his rivals was how easy he made it look.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 13, 2026
The galling sight of Ireland and Wales winning championships and Grand Slams, partying hard as Scotland stared in the window.
From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026
“Almost as galling as being discovered in the midst of an embrace.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
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.
