gag

[ gag ]

/ gæg /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gag ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), gagged, gag·ging.

to stop up the mouth of (a person) by putting something in it, thus preventing speech, shouts, etc.

to restrain by force or authority from freedom of speech; silence.

to fasten open the jaws of, as in surgical operations.

to cause to retch or choke.

Metalworking. to straighten or bend (a bar, rail, etc.) with a gag.

verb (used without object), gagged, gag·ging.

to retch or choke.

noun

something put into a person's mouth to prevent speech, shouting, etc.

any forced or arbitrary suppression of freedom of speech.

a surgical instrument for holding the jaws open.

Metalworking. a shaped block of steel used with a press to straighten or bend a bar, rail, etc.

Nearby words

Origin of gag

1400–50; late Middle English gaggen to suffocate; perhaps imitative of the sound made in choking

SYNONYMS FOR gag

2. curb, stifle, suppress.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gag ON THESAURUS.COM

gag

[ gag ]

/ gæg /

Informal.

noun

a joke, especially one introduced into a script or an actor's part.

any contrived piece of wordplay or horseplay.

verb (used without object), gagged, gag·ging.

to tell jokes or make amusing remarks.

to introduce gags in acting.

to play on another's credulity, as by telling false stories.

verb (used with object), gagged, gag·ging.

to introduce usually comic interpolations into (a script, an actor's part, or the like) (usually followed by up).

Origin of gag

1770–80; perhaps special use of gag¹; compare Old Norse gagg yelp

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for gagging

Or maybe Alibaba is doing what other companies are doing in China: gagging itself and its customers to appease the apparatchiks.
Alibaba’s Dark Side: Censoring Customers|Brendon Hong|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The gagging can be extreme, even when patients are relaxed and cooperating by swallowing repeatedly during the procedure.
Gitmo Prisoner Force-Feeding Violates Medical Ethics|Nuriel Moghavem, Marty Makary|July 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I am gagging here, somewhat, at having to state the blessedly obvious.
Michelle Obama's Power Trip|Tunku Varadarajan|October 7, 2010|DAILY BEAST
I am gagging as I struggle to find a way to pay what I owe for gas and electric.
The Bag Lady Returns|Alexandra Penney|March 4, 2009|DAILY BEAST

He shoved her away roughly and got up on his knees, gagging.
Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town|Cory Doctorow
The next operation was gagging the bear so that he could not bite.
Bears I Have Met--and Others|Allen Kelly
Ross stooped to drag him from the plate and began binding and gagging him with lengths torn from his kilt.
The Time Traders|Andre Norton
They began smelling smells they never dreamed existed—noxious smells, cloying smells, smells that drove them gagging to the sinks.
The Coffin Cure|Alan Edward Nourse
Through the cloud of salmon-colored dust, with its gagging acrid fumes, could be seen the motor-cycle.
The Wonder of War on Land|Francis Rolt-Wheeler

British Dictionary definitions for gagging

gag

/ (ɡæɡ) /

verb gags, gagging or gagged

(tr) to stop up (a person's mouth), esp with a piece of cloth, etc, to prevent him or her from speaking or crying out

(tr) to suppress or censor (free expression, information, etc)

to retch or cause to retch

(intr) to struggle for breath; choke

(tr) to hold (the jaws) of (a person or animal) apart with a surgical gag

(tr) to apply a gag-bit to (a horse)

be gagging for or be gagging to slang to be very eager to have or do something

noun

a piece of cloth, rope, etc, stuffed into or tied across the mouth

any restraint on or suppression of information, free speech, etc

a surgical device for keeping the jaws apart, as during a tonsillectomy

parliamentary procedure another word for closure (def. 4)

Word Origin for gag

C15 gaggen; perhaps imitative of a gasping sound

gag

/ (ɡæɡ) informal /

noun

a joke or humorous story, esp one told by a professional comedian

a hoax, practical joke, etche did it for a gag

verb gags, gagging or gagged

(intr) to tell jokes or funny stories, as comedians in nightclubs, etc

(often foll by up) theatre

to interpolate lines or business not in the actor's stage part, usually comic and improvised
to perform a stage jest, either spoken or based on movement

Word Origin for gag

C19: perhaps special use of gag 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for gagging

gag

mid-15c., "to choke, strangle," possibly imitative or influenced by Old Norse gaghals "with head thrown back." The sense of "stop a person's mouth" is first attested c.1500. Related: Gagged; gagging.

gag

n.1

"joke," 1863, probably related to theatrical sense of "matter interpolated in a written piece by the actor" (1847); or from the sense "made-up story" (1805); or from slang verbal sense of "to deceive, take in with talk" (1777), all perhaps on notion of "stuff, fill" (see gag (v.)).

gag

n.2

"act of gagging," 1550s, from gag (v.); figurative use from 1620s.

Medicine definitions for gagging

gag

[ găg ]

v.

To choke, retch, or undergo a regurgitative spasm.

To prevent from talking.

n.

An instrument adjusted between the teeth to keep the mouth from closing during operations in the mouth or throat.

gag

verb (used with object), gagged, gag·ging.

verb (used without object), gagged, gag·ging.

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of gag

gag

noun

verb (used without object), gagged, gag·ging.

verb (used with object), gagged, gag·ging.

Origin of gag

Examples from the Web for gagging

gag

verb gags, gagging or gagged

noun

Word Origin for gag

gag

noun

verb gags, gagging or gagged

Word Origin for gag

gag

gag

gag

gag

v.

n.