gang
1a group or band: A gang of boys gathered around the winning pitcher.
a group of youngsters or adolescents who associate closely, often exclusively, for social reasons, especially such a group engaging in delinquent behavior.
a group of people with compatible tastes or mutual interests who gather together for social reasons: I'm throwing a party for the gang I bowl with.
a group of persons associated for some criminal or other antisocial purpose: a gang of thieves.
a set of tools, electronic components or circuits, oars, etc., arranged to work together or simultaneously.
a group of identical or related items.
to arrange in groups or sets; form into a gang: to gang illustrations for more economical printing on one sheet.
to attack in a gang.
to form or act as a gang: Cutthroats who gang together hang together.
gang up on, Informal. (of a number of persons) to unite in opposition to (a person); combine against: The bigger boys ganged up on the smaller ones in the schoolyard.
Origin of gang
1Other words for gang
Words Nearby gang
Other definitions for gang (2 of 2)
to walk or go.
Origin of gang
2Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use gang in a sentence
His research consisted of shadowing a Chicago gang for 10 years, and it yielded valuable insights on the inner workings of the drug trade.
A Georgetown professor trades her classroom for a police beat | Ronald S. Sullivan Jr. | February 12, 2021 | Washington PostHur also oversaw the prosecutions of national security threats, gang-related crimes and complex fraud cases — particularly during the pandemic.
Robert Hur, U.S. attorney for Maryland, will resign this month | Katie Mettler | February 3, 2021 | Washington PostIn New Orleans, analysts scraped information from social media as well as criminal and gang databases and field interviews by officers, then used the list to target individuals for the city’s gunfire-reduction program.
Local Law Enforcement Quiet on Relationships With ‘Predictive Policing’ Company | Jesse Marx | February 2, 2021 | Voice of San DiegoHe lives by the code of Garden Heights, where behavior is dictated by a fraternity of violence and aggression, but isn’t blind to the hypocrisy of gang life.
Angie Thomas’ New Prequel to The Hate U Give Challenges the Cult of Masculinity | Cleyvis Natera | January 12, 2021 | TimeSermon had been shown heading to the locker room after the Buckeyes’ first drive of the game, during which he was gang-tackled by Alabama defenders after a short run.
The Alabama football dynasty collects another title with a 52-24 rout of Ohio State | Chuck Culpepper, Des Bieler | January 12, 2021 | Washington Post
How do you feel about Archer and the gang abandoning the cartel and returning to the office?
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS | Marlow Stern | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTgang tattoos are still inked onto his face, like scarlet letters.
How Good Dads Can Change the World | Gary Barker, PhD, Michael Kaufman | January 6, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe End of Gangs By Sam Quinones, Pacific-Standard Los Angeles gave America the modern street gang.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Dec 29-Jan 4, 2014 | William Boot | January 4, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTPolice Superintendent Michael Harrison said the decline was a result of an effort to decrease gang violence.
Brooklyn musician Bobby Shmurda, whose ‘Shmoney Dance’ went viral, was arrested today on ‘gang conspiracy’ charges, police said.
Rapper Bobby Shmurda Arrested at New York’s Notorious Quad Studios | M.L. Nestel | December 17, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhen Michael needed fresh supplies, he was not long in gathering a gang of harpies about him.
I like sus-sus-pen-sheen bridges that fly from bank to bank, with one big step, like a gang-plank.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingHe captured two, whom he shot, and burned two or three houses whose owners had been harboring the gang.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. DunnSo they bore Spotted Snake away with them in the canoe, while the Dogtown gang shrieked farewells from the old landing.
The Campfire Girls of Roselawn | Margaret PenroseIf word reaches the Dangerfield gang about what we're doing, King will never be allowed to reach his destination.
Motor Matt's "Century" Run | Stanley R. Matthews
British Dictionary definitions for gang (1 of 3)
/ (ɡæŋ) /
a group of people who associate together or act as an organized body, esp for criminal or illegal purposes
an organized group of workmen
a herd of buffaloes or elks or a pack of wild dogs
NZ a group of shearers who travel to different shearing sheds, shearing, classing, and baling wool
a series of similar tools arranged to work simultaneously in parallel
(as modifier): a gang saw
to form into, become part of, or act as a gang
(tr) electronics to mount (two or more components, such as variable capacitors) on the same shaft, permitting adjustment by a single control
Origin of gang
1- See also gang up
Derived forms of gang
- ganged, adjective
British Dictionary definitions for gang (2 of 3)
/ (ɡæŋ) /
Scot to go
Origin of gang
2British Dictionary definitions for gang (3 of 3)
/ (ɡæŋ) /
a variant spelling of gangue
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Other Idioms and Phrases with gang
In addition to the idiom beginning with gang
- gang up
also see:
- like gangbusters
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
Browse