gall
noun
gall
1 American
[gawl]
/ gɔl /
gall
2
American
[gawl]
/ gɔl /
verb (used with object)
-
galls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
galled,
past participle, past
-
galling
present participle
-
to vex or irritate greatly.
His arrogant manner galls me.
-
to make sore by rubbing; chafe severely.
The saddle galled the horse's back.
verb (used without object)
-
galls,
present (3rd person singular)
-
galled,
past participle, past
-
galling
present participle
-
to be or become chafed.
-
Machinery. (of either of two engaging metal parts) to lose metal to the other because of heat or molecular attraction resulting from friction.
-
Metallurgy. (of a die or compact in powder metallurgy) to lose surface material through adhesion to the die.
noun
-
something very vexing or irritating.
-
a state of vexation or irritation.
-
a sore on the skin, especially of a horse, due to rubbing; excoriation.
gall
3
American
[gawl]
/ gɔl /
noun
Gall
4
American
[gawl]
/ gɔl /
noun
gall
1
British
/ ɡɔːl /
noun
-
informal impudence
-
bitterness; rancour
-
something bitter or disagreeable
-
physiol an obsolete term for bile 1
-
an obsolete term for gall bladder
gall
2
British
/ ɡɔːl /
noun
-
a sore on the skin caused by chafing
-
something that causes vexation or annoyance
a gall to the spirits
-
irritation; exasperation
verb
-
pathol to abrade (the skin, etc) as by rubbing
-
(tr) to irritate or annoy; vex
gall.
3
British
abbreviation
gall
4
British
/ ɡɔːl /
noun
gall
Scientific
/ gôl /
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
gallsimple
-
gallssimple
-
have galledperfect
-
has galledperfect
-
am gallingprogressive
-
are gallingprogressive
-
is gallingprogressive
-
have been gallingperfect progressive
-
has been gallingperfect progressive
Past
-
galledsimple
-
had galledperfect
-
was gallingprogressive
-
were gallingprogressive
-
had been gallingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gall1
First recorded before 900; Middle English galle, gal “gallbladder; bitter taste; rancor; poison,” Old English gealla “bile”; cognate with German Galle; akin to Latin fel, Greek cholḗ, chólos “gall, bile”; gall 2 ( def. )
Origin of gall2
First recorded before 1000; Middle English gal(l)e, gaul(e) “sore (on the skin); stain, impurity; barren spot (in a field),” Old English gealla “an abrasion or sore (on a horse)”; possibly from Latin galla “nutgall”; possibly the same as gall 1 ( def. ), the senses developing from “bile” to “poison” to “(poisonous) sore” to “stain”; gall 3 ( def. )
Origin of gall3
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English galle, from Middle French, from Latin galla “gallnut”; see gall 2
Explanation
Gall describes something irritating, like someone very rude. If you barge into a bakery and cut in front of a sweet old lady, then you have gall. If someone has gall, they're irritating. In fact, as a verb, gall means "to irritate" like new tight jeans that gall your thighs. Gall is "bile," too, like what's in a gall bladder. Back in the days of Hippocrates, if the four humors of the body were out of whack, it affected your spirits. If you had too much bile, or gall, then you'd be aggressive or depressed. It's also a noun for "deep feeling of ill will."
Vocabulary lists containing gall
"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act I
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A Raisin in the Sun
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The Hunger Games
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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:
“That young man had the gall to say, ‘You played hacky sack?’” the 46-year-old laughed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 20, 2026
They can range from nausea through to hair loss to more serious and rare complications like kidney issues and gall stones.
From BBC ● May 16, 2026
And then he has the gall to justify his expenses by saying that we do need two cars.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2025
Yet the group’s website has the gall to show both their photos, along with the phrase “Great minds think alike.”
From Slate ● Oct. 29, 2024
And I began to realize why so few sensitive Negroes had had the gall to come as close to them as I had.
From "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Sandy McCook, chairman of Nethy Community Council, said he had witnessed a "major flare-up" on Mam Suim, Craig nan Gall and into Strath Nethy on Thursday evening.
From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026
The fall in exports to both China and the United States "is causing massive overcapacity across the entire German automotive industry," said EY auto industry expert Constantin M. Gall.
From Barron's ● Mar. 20, 2026
The work was found in the estate of Hugues Gall, who died last May at age 84.
From New York Times ● Dec. 5, 2024
"Even if there's potentially some more life in them, over time PAHs can partition off the filter and be emitted back into your space," Gall said.
From Science Daily ● Jan. 2, 2024
“So that’s what Gall did,” Grandpa Nyles said, pausing for a moment.
From "In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse" by Joseph Marshall III
"You laugh. You. Now that is gall. You fight like a hedgehog ..." "There was a knight once who couldn't see," Bran said stubbornly, as Ser Rodrik went on below.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
Wax Finishing.—Take ½ gall. of turpentine, 1½ lb. yellow beeswax, 1 lb. white beeswax, ½ lb. white rosin.
From French Polishing and Enamelling A Practical Work of Instruction by Richard Bitmead
For the commonest kind of work in black walnut a very cheap polish can be made in the following manner: Take 1 gall. of turpentine, 2 lb. pulverised asphaltum, 1 qt. boiled linseed-oil, 2 oz.
From French Polishing and Enamelling A Practical Work of Instruction by Richard Bitmead
Take 1/2 gall. of skimmed milk, 6 ozs. of lime newly slaked, 4 ozs. of poppy, linseed, or nut-oil, and 3 lbs. of Spanish white.
From Young's Demonstrative Translation of Scientific Secrets by Daniel Young
One gall. makes 51 galls. sufficient for 160 to 200 square yards.
From Roses and Rose Growing by Rose Georgina Kingsley
What galls me is the failure to identify one of the — certainly not the only — bedrock reasons some people go through life with little or no money: mismanagement.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 26, 2026
“It galls me that that gets forgotten, because he’s rewriting the history of what happened on those tapes.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 8, 2023
But as much as it galls me to admit it, these gems don't always hold up to adult scrutiny.
From Salon ● Nov. 29, 2022
Gall insects are everywhere: It is estimated that 1,000 species of gall wasps in North America are responsible for the galls on oaks alone.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 2, 2022
“And the mordants too. You must learn those. Sometimes sumac. Tree galls are good. Some lichens. “Best is — here, come; let me show you.
From "Gathering Blue" by Lois Lowry
Many were particularly galled about a provision in the U.S. plan that extended amnesty for actions taken by all parties during the war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 22, 2025
It galled Nixon that the press, never his friend, was turning Ellsberg into a hero.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2023
The block on calls using the popular WhatsApp, FaceTime and Skype applications has particularly galled UAE residents who were separated from families and friends by restrictions during the pandemic.
From Reuters ● Sep. 29, 2021
But many in the administration were galled by claims that they had failed to take aggressive action to stop evictions.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 4, 2021
She was right, he knew, though it galled him that she would make that decision 1 should never have come to the ball, he realized belatedly.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
The loss of Shazeer is particularly galling as it is the second time he has left Google.
From Barron's ● Jun. 26, 2026
What’s really galling to Scots is the culprit’s lack of ambition.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026
All of that must have been galling to O'Neill.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
And that’s not even the most galling part.
From Slate ● May 19, 2026
Still, it was galling, this having to admit she was afraid.
From "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit
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