gallows

American  

[gal-ohz, -uhz] / ˈgæl oʊz, -əz /

noun

• gallowses,
  plural
• gallows
  plural

1. a wooden frame, consisting of a crossbeam on two uprights, on which condemned persons are executed by hanging.

2. a similar structure from which something is suspended.

3. execution by hanging.

   a crime deserving of the gallows.

4. Also called gallows bitts. Nautical. a support on the deck of a vessel, generally one of two or more, consisting of a crosspiece on two uprights, for spars, boats, etc.

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gallows British  

/ ˈɡæləʊz /

noun

1. a wooden structure usually consisting of two upright posts with a crossbeam from which a rope is suspended, used for hanging criminals

2. any timber structure resembling this, such as (in Australia and New Zealand) a frame for hoisting up the bodies of slaughtered cattle

3. execution by hanging

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• gallows
  plural
• gallowses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gallows

before 900; Middle English galwes, Old English g ( e ) algan, plural of g ( e ) alga gallows; cognate with German Galgen

Explanation

During the Salem witch trials in the late 1600s, women accused of witchcraft were executed by hanging, a gruesome process that involves a gallows, or wooden frame from which a person is hung by a rope. A gallows is a frame, usually wood, that is made up of a horizontal crossbeam from which a noose or rope is suspended. The word gallows has an s at the end of it because a gallows usually consists of two upright poles and a crossbeam. As a form of capital punishment, hanging is outlawed in almost every state, making the use of gallows these days very rare. If you see one, it will be in a museum.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gallows gallowses

The offended parties can also choose to turn the other cheek, though all eyes seem fixed on the gallows.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

The series is wildly atmospheric with plenty of gallows humor and more than a few truly loopy plotlines, but great fun with Davis managing, as ever, to sell even the most preposterous scene.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

Ralph Waldo Emerson declared that Brown would “make the gallows as glorious as the cross.”

From Slate ● Apr. 2, 2026

Some of the chat leading up to this game involved the gallows humour so close to the heart of most members of the Tartan Army.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2025

The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Neville, who walked forward as though he were heading for the gallows.

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

When knaves come to preferment, they rise as gallowses are raised in the Low Countries, one upon another's shoulders.

From Sketches and Studies in Italy and Greece, Second Series by Horatio Robert Forbes Brown

"I wear gallowses no more," he explained, lifting his waistcoat to show that his braces now encircled him as a belt, but even then she did not understand.

From Sentimental Tommy The Story of His Boyhood by J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie

I mean, merely, that gallowses are fast disappearing, and that the people--le peuple you will understand--begin to accept money.

From Home as Found by James Fenimore Cooper

The comical little fellow wore an unbleached cotton shirt, and tattered pantaloons, with home-made suspenders or "gallowses."

From Queer Stories for Boys and Girls by Edward Eggleston

She knows how to deal with such gallowses; and they will keep her to cook their dinner.

From Erema — My Father's Sin by R. D. (Richard Doddridge) Blackmore