gallivant
Americanverb (used without object)
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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
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has gallivantedperfect 3rd person singular
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have gallivantedperfect
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is gallivantingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are gallivantingprogressive
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am gallivantingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been gallivantingperfect progressive
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has been gallivantingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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gallivantingparticiple
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gallivantssingular 3rd person
Past
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had gallivantedperfect
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were gallivantingprogressive plural
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had been gallivantingperfect progressive
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gallivantedsimple
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was gallivantingprogressive singular
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gallivantedparticiple
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.
Kötting's breakthrough 1997 feature, Gallivant, was a one-of-a-kind trip around the British coastline accompanied by his grandmother and seven-year-old daughter, Eden, who has a brain condition called Joubert syndrome, which affects coordination and balance.
From The Guardian • Jul. 18, 2012
"I first met Andrew, really, by seeing Gallivant," says Sinclair, stretching out his legs.
From The Guardian • Jul. 18, 2012
Just now, Mr. Gallivant was in very poor circumstances—a condition of things all the more hardly felt because it succeeded, and succeeded suddenly, upon a period of bewildering prosperity.
From Tin-Types Taken in the Streets of New York A Series of Stories and Sketches Portraying Many Singular Phases of Metropolitan Life by Beard, Harry
Thwicket had left two minutes before, having learned that Gallivant was at the Savarin.
From Tin-Types Taken in the Streets of New York A Series of Stories and Sketches Portraying Many Singular Phases of Metropolitan Life by Beard, Harry
Mr. Gallivant slid into his overcoat, prinked up his scarlet tie, and walked breezily into Wall Street.
From Tin-Types Taken in the Streets of New York A Series of Stories and Sketches Portraying Many Singular Phases of Metropolitan Life by Beard, Harry
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.
