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Synonyms

gal

1 American  
[gal] / gæl /

noun

Informal: Sometimes Offensive.

  1. a term used to refer to a girl or woman.

gal 2 American  
[gal] / gæl /

noun

  1. a centimeter-gram-second unit of acceleration, equal to one centimeter per second per second.

gal. 3 American  

abbreviation

  1. gallon; gallons.

Gal. 4 American  

abbreviation

Bible.

  1. Galatians.

gal 1 British  
/ ɡæl /

noun

  1. slang a girl

"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
gal. 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. gallon

"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
gal 3 British  
/ ɡæl /

noun

  1. a unit of acceleration equal to 1 centimetre per second per second

"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
GAL 4 British  

abbreviation

  1. get a life

"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
Gal. 5 British  

abbreviation

  1. Galatians

"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
gal. Scientific  

  1. Abbreviation of gallon

Sensitive Note

See girl.

Etymology

Origin of gal1

First recorded in 1785–95; originally, a dialectal pronunciation of girl

Origin of gal2

First recorded in 1910–15; named after Galileo

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.

In September 2023 the NRA approved Chubu Electric's estimate of 1,200 gal, a unit of acceleration used to measure the intensity of quakes.

From Barron's • Jan. 6, 2026

Testing showed that he had indeed been sensitized to alpha gal.

From Science Daily • Dec. 17, 2025

I was always a little community theater gal when I was younger.

From Salon • Dec. 4, 2024

But is this a before or after picture, and is Nessa a wedding ring kinda gal anyway?

From BBC • Nov. 21, 2024

She was a big, rough, strong gal, and she lindied like a bucking horse.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

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.