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Synonyms

gale

1 American  
[geyl] / geɪl /

noun

  1. a very strong wind.

  2. Meteorology. a wind of 32–63 miles per hour (14–28 meters per second).

  3. a noisy outburst.

    a gale of laughter filled the room.
    Synonyms:
    gust, fit, outbreak, eruption, burst

  4. Archaic. a gentle breeze.

gale 2 American  
[geyl] / geɪl /

noun

  1. sweet gale.

Gale 3 American  
[geyl] / geɪl /

noun

  1. Zona 1874–1938, U.S. novelist, short-story writer, playwright, and poet.

  2. a female or male given name.

gale 1 British  
/ ɡeɪl /

noun

  1. a strong wind, specifically one of force seven to ten on the Beaufort scale or from 45 to 90 kilometres per hour

  2. (often plural) a loud outburst, esp of laughter

  3. archaic a gentle breeze

"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
gale 2 British  
/ ɡeɪl /

noun

  1. short for sweet gale

"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

Etymology

Origin of gale1

First recorded in 1540–50; perhaps from Scandinavian; compare Norwegian dialect geil “uproar, unrest, boiling”

Origin of gale2

before 1000; Middle English gail, Old English gagel; cognate with German Gagel

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.

A gale warning was also in effect for inner coastal waters, with officials discouraging boating until conditions improved.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 16, 2026

Once unfurled, it holds up in anything short of a gale.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

For a moment, I felt myself transported, like a gale off Lake Michigan had carried us all back through time.

From Slate • Nov. 10, 2025

These will linger longest across northern areas, with rainfall totals enhanced on western hills by strong to gale force winds.

From BBC • Jul. 4, 2025

In time the gale egan to subside, and the danger passed.

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

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.