gallivant
Americanverb (used without object)
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gallivants,
present (3rd person singular)
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gallivanted,
past participle, past
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gallivanting
present participle
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to wander about, seeking pleasure or diversion; gad.
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to go about frivolously and publicly with multiple romantic partners.
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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gallivantsimple
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gallivantssimple
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have gallivantedperfect
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has gallivantedperfect
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am gallivantingprogressive
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are gallivantingprogressive
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is gallivantingprogressive
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have been gallivantingperfect progressive
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has been gallivantingperfect progressive
Past
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gallivantedsimple
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had gallivantedperfect
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was gallivantingprogressive
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were gallivantingprogressive
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had been gallivantingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of gallivant
First recorded in 1815–25; perhaps fanciful alteration of gallant
Explanation
People who gallivant are out to have a good time as they wander. You might decide to take a year off between high school and college so you can gallivant around the country for a while. When you gallivant, you meander from one place to another in search of fun. A little kid might gallivant around the preschool classroom during free time, visiting her friends and playing with various toys. Professional musicians are sometimes able to gallivant from city to city in between performances. Gallivant comes from an old-fashioned definition of gallant, "a dashing man." To "play the gallant" was once a popular way to say "to gad about" or to gallivant.
Vocabulary lists containing gallivant
Born a Crime
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This Week in Pop Culture: December 8 -14, 2018
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Little Women
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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:
And I felt that as I watched adults gallivant around with childlike glee.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
Deer regularly gallivant into neighborhoods, jumping fences and lounging on front lawns.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 29, 2023
Look at the massive Seville cityscape here, by an unknown painter from around 1660, in which men of lighter and darker skin tones gossip and gallivant on the riverbank as galleons sail by.
From New York Times ● Apr. 7, 2023
The other besieged children gallivant just as vivaciously, among them Charlie Hodson-Prior as Bruce, Winter Jarrett-Glasspool as Amanda and Rei Yamauchi Fulker as Lavender.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 19, 2022
“You know better than to gallivant around wearing corsets and carrying firearms. You’re in your last year! I expect better from students about to graduate.”
From "Dread Nation" by Justina Ireland
She turns up in his hometown and, with nowhere else to stay, helps herself to his villa while Matteo gallivants around the States, blissfully ignorant.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026
But even without that recognition, Bailey has captured our hearts in whatever time period, love story or dance number he masterfully gallivants into without a worry.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2024
Meanwhile, our parents, who work long hours, still find the time to clean and do laundry at night and on weekends while he gallivants off to spend all his money and have a good time.
From Slate ● Mar. 29, 2018
In one of the first scenes of the premiere, Richard accidentally strikes a quadruped Stanford robot as it gallivants across the street in a tip to Google-owned robotics company Boston Dynamics.
From The Verge ● Apr. 25, 2016
Don't think though that I'm so stout-hearted As e'er to jump hedges or dikes, It's simply that after we've started, My "gee" gallivants as it likes.
From Mr. Punch in the Hunting Field by Various
In the week before the Opening Ceremony, he gallivanted around Italy in a jacket with the national slogan on the sleeve: “Go Mongolia.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
The pop star and Chiefs' tight end gallivanted around the world together, and Kelce ended up joining his girlfriend on stage performing at the London Eras Tour date earlier this summer.
From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2024
She gallivanted there, too, particularly in Chinatown, with its warren of antique shops.
From New York Times ● Jun. 30, 2023
Eberechi Eze was cute in possession and Patrick van Aanholt gallivanted down the left flank, while Jeffrey Schlupp was busy and Christian Benteke, too, was quietly efficient in attack.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 7, 2020
"I don't think we gallivanted at all reprehensibly," he said.
From Back to Billabong by Mary Grant Bruce
The life of a superhero lends itself well to gallivanting through galaxies, battling space pirates and star bandits.
From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026
The women in “Cold Victory” are Louise Koski and Natalya Bobrova, who remain in Helsinki while their husbands are off gallivanting.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 4, 2024
Since mid-November, Los Angeles Councilmember Kevin de León has been gallivanting around his Eastside district as if the past few months never happened.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2022
Elsewhere in the Red Keep, the next generation of Targaryen men are gallivanting about, looking just as ill-suited for leadership as their predecessors.
From New York Times ● Sep. 25, 2022
I needed money if I wanted to come back in the spring, and I couldn’t very well work if I was gallivanting around with Francis.
From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt
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.
