gable
noun
the portion of the front or side of a building enclosed by or masking the end of a pitched roof.
gable
1 American
[gay-buhl]
/ ˈgeɪ bəl /
noun
Architecture.
-
gables
plural
-
the portion of the front or side of a building enclosed by or masking the end of a pitched roof.
-
a decorative member suggesting a gable, used especially in Gothic architecture.
-
Also called gable wall. a wall bearing a gable.
Gable
2
American
[gay-buhl]
/ ˈgeɪ bəl /
noun
gable
1
British
/ ˈɡeɪbəl /
noun
-
the triangular upper part of a wall between the sloping ends of a pitched roof ( gable roof )
-
a triangular ornamental feature in the form of a gable, esp as used over a door or window
-
the triangular wall on both ends of a gambrel roof
Gable
2
British
/ ˈɡeɪbəl /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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."
Vocabulary lists containing gable
Beowulf
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The Cay
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Built To Last: Architectural Parlance
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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:
Among them are working drawings that prescribe the profile of every block of stone, each keyed to its exact place in the building, whether gable, tracery or buttress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026
The mural, which was created by artist collective Peaball, is located on a gable wall of the Pram Centre.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2024
Chicken barns have massive fans at each end of the gable roof.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 3, 2024
That is where they built their current Colonial-style home with a gable roof and hardwood floors, three bedrooms and four full baths, according to local property records.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 13, 2023
It portrayed the young leader as a happy, hug- gable family man.
From "Escape from Camp 14: One Man's Remarkable Odyssey from North Korea to Freedom in the West" by Blaine Harden
We used to have Cary Grant and Clark Gable and all these people.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 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
Like its Swiss counterpart, it has hosted luminaries including Clark Gable, Lucille Ball and Frank Sinatra.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 3, 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
I spent my time with Mr. Gable trying not to be a compassionate person.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
My house has gables and skylights, so surface area for solar is limited.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
These furry creatures are a familiar sight, known to roost in chimneys and in the gables of old churches.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 20, 2023
Some are simple, but others have brightly painted roofs, gables and even chimneys.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 28, 2023
Their furniture, with dynamic diagonal supports and imposing scale, had “the presence of small buildings, complete with gables, balustrades, capitals, columns and doors,” Ms. Veith and Ms. Harvey write.
From New York Times ● Sep. 2, 2021
Before the wagons came to the big house with seven gables they stopped in front of a weather-beaten little cottage in a weed-grown yard.
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
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