gallant
adjective
brave, spirited, noble-minded, or chivalrous.
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gallant
1 American
[gal-uhnt, guh-lant, -lahnt, gal-uhnt, guh-lant, -lahnt, gal-uhnt, guh-lant, -lahnt]
/ ˈgæl ənt, gəˈlænt, -ˈlɑnt, ˈgæl ənt, gəˈlænt, -ˈlɑnt, ˈgæl ənt, gəˈlænt, -ˈlɑnt /
adjective
-
brave, spirited, noble-minded, or chivalrous.
a gallant knight; a gallant rescue attempt.
-
exceptionally polite and attentive to others, especially to women; courtly.
- Synonyms:
- courteous, chivalrous
-
a gallant pageant.
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showy, colorful, or stylish, as in dress; magnificent.
noun
gallants
plural
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a brave, noble-minded, or chivalrous man.
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a man exceptionally attentive to women.
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a stylish and dashing man.
-
a suitor or lover.
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a paramour.
verb (used with object)
-
to court or act as a lover of (a woman).
-
to escort (a woman).
verb (used without object)
Gallant
2
American
[gal-uhnt]
/ ˈgæl ənt /
noun
gallant
British
adjective
-
brave and high-spirited; courageous and honourable; dashing
a gallant warrior
-
(of a man) attentive to women; chivalrous
-
imposing; dignified; stately
a gallant ship
-
archaic showy in dress
noun
-
a woman's lover or suitor
-
a dashing or fashionable young man, esp one who pursues women
-
a brave, high-spirited, or adventurous man
verb
-
to court or flirt (with)
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(tr) to attend or escort (a woman)
Synonym Usage
See brave.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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gallantnessnoun
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supergallantnessnoun
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quasi-gallantadjective
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supergallantadjective
-
ungallantadjective
-
gallantlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gallant
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English gala(u)nt, from Old French galant, present participle of galer “to amuse oneself, make merry,” from unattested Gallo-Romance walāre, derivative of unattested Frankish wala “good, happy”; see well 1, weal 1
Explanation
If you volunteer to remove a huge, hairy spider from your bathroom ceiling, your whole family will be grateful for your gallant actions. The adjective gallant means "heroic or brave." In the past, gallant was used to describe a man's behavior toward a woman, especially if he saved her from something or helped her with something she was unable to do on her own. It can still be used that way, but more often it describes any kind of bravery, and it is just as correct to describe a woman's bravery as gallant as it is a man's.
Vocabulary lists containing gallant
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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:
James and his teammates gave a gallant effort Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena, but the defending champion proved to be more than the Lakers could handle.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2026
Claude is gallant and tender; he has dreamy blue eyes and a sad, sensitive smile.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
The statement, from Major General Michael Onoja, a defence headquarters spokesman, said that the attack "resulted in the loss of a few brave and gallant soldiers", without disclosing a toll or who was killed.
From Barron's ● Apr. 9, 2026
Our response was gallant, but that's not what we want to be, we don't want to be a responding team.
From BBC ● Feb. 5, 2026
He was homely in a gallant vital way.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
Some ICC officials believe the woman’s allegations may have influenced the timing of Khan’s announcement on May 20, 2024, that he would seek arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
The aide, a Malaysian lawyer in her 30s, is a Muslim and strongly supported the investigations into Netanyahu, Gallant and the leaders of Hamas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
“This week’s verdicts aren’t legally binding on future judges and juries, but the SF case vs Meta this summer is key,” wrote Gallant.
From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026
In 2022, Smucker’s sent a cease-and-desist letter to Gallant Tiger, a Minneapolis-based prepackaged sandwich startup, over the shape and packaging of its round crustless sandwiches.
From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2025
After Gallant Sir, he didn’t ride another stakes winner for years.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
By Part 3, we are in Renaissance France, where gallants fight with one-handed swords in 1547.
From New York Times ● Aug. 11, 2012
Instead of sightseeing or sambaing in nightclubs with gallants from the Chamber of Commerce, they flew directly to Parana's coffee-raising center, 200 miles inland from Sao Paulo.
From Time Magazine Archive
Two young purse-poor gallants pose as master and servant in order to wed wealthily.
From Time Magazine Archive
Her nurses and doctors are courtiers and gallants.
From Time Magazine Archive
These men, a picked striking force of gallants, resumed the onslaughts of the previous afternoon.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
