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.
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
First recorded in 1450–1500; late Middle English, from Old French g(u)age, from Germanic; compare Gothic wadi “a pledge”; cf. wage
First recorded in 1840–50; by shortening
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.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Ms. Gage deals with it by visiting the remnants of a Japanese internment camp at Manzanar, Calif., and the research facility in Los Alamos, N.M., where U.S. government scientists built the atomic bomb.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
If Ms. Gage wanted some celebratory leaven, she could have visited Dayton, Ohio’s many sites devoted to the Wright Brothers and their world-changing invention.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
Visiting Nashville, Tenn., Ms. Gage considers Andrew Jackson critically as the ruthless bane of indigenous people that he was, but she misses an opportunity to explore his Scots-Irish identity.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 1, 2026
“In May, this man over here, for four days, stood patiently waiting for his chance,” Gage told jurors during his closing remarks, pointing toward Cuellar.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 19, 2026
Antonio and Hanna Damasio, a husband-and-wife team of doctors, regularly see people who remind them of Phineas Gage.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
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.
