gang
1 Americannoun
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gangs
plural
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a group or band.
A gang of boys gathered around the winning pitcher.
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a group of youngsters or adolescents who associate closely, often exclusively, for social reasons, especially such a group engaging in delinquent behavior.
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a group of people with compatible tastes or mutual interests who gather together for social reasons.
I'm throwing a party for the gang I bowl with.
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a group of persons working together; squad; shift.
a gang of laborers.
- Synonyms:
- team
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a group of persons associated for some criminal or other antisocial purpose.
a gang of thieves.
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a set of tools, electronic components or circuits, oars, etc., arranged to work together or simultaneously.
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a group of identical or related items.
verb (used with object)
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to arrange in groups or sets; form into a gang.
to gang illustrations for more economical printing on one sheet.
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to attack in a gang.
verb (used without object)
verb phrase
verb (used without object)
noun
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a group of people who associate together or act as an organized body, esp for criminal or illegal purposes
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an organized group of workmen
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a herd of buffaloes or elks or a pack of wild dogs
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a group of shearers who travel to different shearing sheds, shearing, classing, and baling wool
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a series of similar tools arranged to work simultaneously in parallel
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( as modifier )
a gang saw
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verb
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to form into, become part of, or act as a gang
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(tr) electronics to mount (two or more components, such as variable capacitors) on the same shaft, permitting adjustment by a single control
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gang1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English gang, gong, Old English gang, gong “manner of going, way, passage”; cognate with Old High German gang, Old Norse gangr, Gothic gagg; cf. gang 2
Origin of gang2
First recorded before 900; Middle English gangen, Old English gangan, gongan; cognate with Old High German gangan, Old Norse ganga, Gothic gaggan; cf. gang 1 (noun derivative from same root)
Explanation
A gang is an association or group of criminals. Often, members of one gang will fight violently with another gang. People join gangs for the sense of belonging, as well as for protection by other members. A gang usually claims an area as its territory and defends it against other gangs or unaffiliated criminals. You can also use gang for a group of friends or workers: "A whole gang of us went to the movies together." The Old English root, gang, means "journey." Today's definition comes from the idea of "a band of people traveling together."
Vocabulary lists containing gang
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:
On the walls where gang members in El Salvador once marked their turf, urban artists are now creating large murals in a traveling festival that fills the streets of the Central American country with color.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
A former gang leader goes on trial Monday in Las Vegas over the decades-old murder of rapper Tupac Shakur, one of America's most high-profile unresolved murders.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
The gang was unmasked after another friend of the men took Child B to London.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Meanwhile in Edinburgh, the two other members of the former gang are going nowhere fast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
Leather-clad gang members, community leaders, young parents with small children in tow.
From "How It Went Down" by Kekla Magoon
Standing in front of his mural, depicting the face of a girl with a feathered headdress, he laments that many artists were victims of the gangs and are now "disappeared."
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
In its statement, DHS denied HSI has neglected its core mission, saying the agency has increased its efforts to combat criminal cartels, gangs and drug traffickers in response to multiple Trump executive orders.
From Salon ● Aug. 15, 2026
The spokesman of Morocco’s Ministry of Interior on Sunday blamed human-trafficking gangs and the dissemination of misleading information about easier access to Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
She agreed the government "absolutely needs to get a grip" on small boat crossings, but said Burnham's team is cracking down on criminal gangs and boosting enforcement.
From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026
Among the rowdiest people of all were gangs of boys, teenaged and younger, who at last had their chance to defy authority.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
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.
