gaggle
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
-
a flock of geese when not flying.
-
an often noisy or disorderly group or gathering.
a politician followed by a gaggle of supporters.
-
an assortment of related things.
verb
noun
-
a flock of geese
-
informal a disorderly group of people
-
a gabbling or cackling sound
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gaggle
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English verb gagelen ; of imitative origin
Explanation
A gaggle is a group of geese. You can also describe a bunch of people milling around in a disorganized way as a gaggle. Gaggle is a word known as a "term of venery," a collective noun used to describe a particular group of animals. When a bunch of geese waddle around on the ground, that's a gaggle of geese. If those same geese were flying overhead, you'd call them a flock or a skein instead. Gaggle is also useful for describing a disorderly or chaotic group of people: "I was surrounded by a gaggle of three-year-olds eager to pet my puppy."
Vocabulary lists containing gaggle
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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:
Larry Ellison didn’t join the gaggle of CEOs that traveled with President Trump on his state visit to China.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
Will top-flight clubs spend the summer transfer window trying to master the set-piece meta by buying new free-kick takers and a gaggle of giants for them to lash the ball at?
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
A gaggle of reporters and neighbors loitered around the property filming as a helicopter hovered overhead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 26, 2026
This week, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi wisited the White House that ended with a press gaggle.
From Salon ● Mar. 21, 2026
The front hall and parlor were full of neighbor ladies, but instead of it being a gaggle of sound like at church meetings, the talk was all whispered.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
Instead of the usual phalanx of cars and buses, Saturday evening traffic on Wilshire Boulevard was replaced by massive balloons, mobile sculptures, gaggles of gallerists and an endless array of elaborate costumes.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2026
Now and then he announces things behind a podium, and there are regular responses to questions in press gaggles, where he reacts off the cuff.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
It's called the Sage Lodge in Pray, Montana, and it’s where George Mason University sends gaggles of federal judges for a week-long “colloquium” every year or so.
From Salon ● May 7, 2024
Tuesday's rally included Orthodox Jews wearing long black coats and black felt hats, gaggles of children, and self-described “progressive liberals” such as Erica Taxin, 56, a yoga studio owner from Philadelphia.
From Reuters ● Nov. 14, 2023
Left behind were gaggles of ducks and geese.
From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George
Aboard Air Force One, he gaggled with reporters and would not confirm what he would do about Iran.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2025
President Isaac Herzog of Israel emerged from the White House and gaggled with the press Wednesday afternoon following his meeting with Biden.
From Salon ● Oct. 27, 2022
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, gaggled with reporters aboard Air Force One during the flight, and she gave an update on the Build Back Better negotiations.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 17, 2021
Deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre gaggled with reporters aboard Air Force One en route to Miami, Florida.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 1, 2021
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, gaggled with reporters aboard Air Force One as Joe Biden traveled to Michigan to tour a Ford electric car plant.
From The Guardian ● May 18, 2021
Eisenberg echoed the same positive spin coming out of the room, gaggling with reporters as he crossed Park Avenue.
From MSNBC ● Jun. 9, 2016
On one side of her were four or five half starved squeaking pigs, on the other a flock of gaggling geese.
From Alonzo and Melissa The Unfeeling Father by Mitchell, I. (Isaac)
Their cry is almost indistinguishable from the gaggling of geese, and they fly in the same chain-like formations.
From Wild Spain (Espa?a agreste) Records of Sport with Rifle, Rod, and Gun, Natural History Exploration by Buck, Walter J.
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.
