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QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

Origin of gang

1
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English gang, gong, Old English gang, gong “manner of going, way, passage”; cognate with Old High German gang, Old Norse gangr, Gothic gagg; cf. gang2

Other definitions for gang (2 of 2)

gang2
[ gang ]
/ gæŋ /

verb (used without object) Chiefly Scot. and North England.
to walk or go.

Origin of gang

2
First recorded before 900; Middle English gangen, Old English gangan, gongan; cognate with Old High German gangan, Old Norse ganga, Gothic gaggan; cf. gang1 (noun derivative from same root)
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use gang in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for gang (1 of 3)

gang1
/ (ɡæŋ) /

noun
verb
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
See also gang up

Derived forms of gang

ganged, adjective

Word Origin for gang

Old English gang journey; related to Old Norse gangr, Old High German gang, Sanskrit jangha foot

British Dictionary definitions for gang (2 of 3)

gang2
/ (ɡæŋ) /

verb
Scot to go

Word Origin for gang

Old English gangan to go 1

British Dictionary definitions for gang (3 of 3)

gang3
/ (ɡæŋ) /

noun
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

gang

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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