gal
noun
a term used to refer to a girl or woman.
gal
1 American
[gal]
/ gæl /
noun
Informal: Sometimes Offensive.
gal
2
American
[gal]
/ gæl /
noun
gal.
3
American
abbreviation
Gal.
4
American
abbreviation
Bible.
Gal.
1
British
abbreviation
GAL
2
British
abbreviation
gal
3
British
/ ɡæl /
noun
gal.
4
British
abbreviation
gal
5
British
/ ɡæl /
noun
gal.
Scientific
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.
See Examples For:
Next up came the second part’s “Say It’s Not You,” George Jones’s plaintive, twangy ballad about a man’s fears that his gal is being unfaithful.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
To make the point, he uses statements like, “Give the old gal a rest” and ”You need to broaden your appeal.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2026
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
These bites can cause the immune system to become sensitive to alpha gal, a sugar naturally found in meat from mammals.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 17, 2025
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
Later we were allowed 10 gal. of gas a month.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 7, 2023
But each time I am like, “Oh, this is the gal. This is the one.”
From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2020
“It’s ridiculous. I’ve got a first cousin that’s married to an African American gal. So their kids are biracial, and I love them just like the rest of my second cousins.”
From Washington Post ● Aug. 11, 2019
“I’m a mainstream media gal. I don’t think the government is after me,” she said.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 28, 2017
He turned to Mr. Leroy, “I told you, Leroy, we should’ve got that little Collins gal. That’s one bright child there. This boy ain’t too far from being daft.”
From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis
The apostle says even of human covenants, "Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereunto," Gal. iii.
From A Hind Let Loose Or, An Historical Representation of the Testimonies of the Church of Scotland for the Interest of Christ. With the True State Thereof in All Its Periods by Alexander Shields
Indeed, Barnabas's vacillation at Antioch, as recorded in Gal. ii.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 3, Part 1, Slice 3 "Banks" to "Bassoon" by Various
Regarding love and faith, for instance, compare Gal. v.
From Supernatural Religion, Vol. II. (of III) An Inquiry into the Reality of Divine Revelation by Walter Richard Cassels
Mr. J. Rendel Harris has published in “Biblical Fragments from Mount Sinai” a leaf containing Gal. ii. 3-5, 12-14; iii.
From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. II. by Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener
Sunday after Christmas, Mark i. 1-8; Gal. i. 11-19.
From A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament, Vol. I. by Frederick Henry Ambrose Scrivener
A GAL looks out for a person who is allegedly incapable of making their own decisions.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2021
Maddd and N.Y.C.F.C. also are in contract to purchase the GAL factory.
From New York Times ● Feb. 7, 2020
TIP TOP GAL close up stalking the winner outside a rival on the backstretch and turn, came three wide into the stretch and weakened.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2019
GAL: “Get a life” and a galileo, a unit used measuring local variations in the acceleration of gravity: For some reason, whenever I start talking about the latter, I hear the former.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 21, 2015
To read this you will see you must take the first letter of each verse: TRO, Trophemus; GAL, Galliæorum; and APO, Apostolus.
From A Year's Journey through France and Part of Spain, Volume 2 by Philip Thicknesse
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.
