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Synonyms

gang

1 American  
[gang] / gæŋ /

noun

  1. a group or band.

    A gang of boys gathered around the winning pitcher.
    Synonyms:
    coterie, clique, circle, set, party, band, crew, crowd, company

  2. a group of youngsters or adolescents who associate closely, often exclusively, for social reasons, especially such a group engaging in delinquent behavior.

  3. 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.

  4. a group of persons working together; squad; shift.

    a gang of laborers.
    Synonyms:
    team

  5. a group of persons associated for some criminal or other antisocial purpose.

    a gang of thieves.

  6. a set of tools, electronic components or circuits, oars, etc., arranged to work together or simultaneously.

  7. a group of identical or related items.

verb (used with object)

  1. to arrange in groups or sets; form into a gang.

    to gang illustrations for more economical printing on one sheet.

  2. to attack in a gang.

verb (used without object)

  1. to form or act as a gang.

    Cutthroats who gang together hang together.

verb phrase

  1. gang up on (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.
gang 2 American  
[gang] / gæŋ /

verb (used without object)

Chiefly Scot. and North England.

  1. to walk or go.

gang 1 British  
/ ɡæŋ /

noun

  1. a group of people who associate together or act as an organized body, esp for criminal or illegal purposes

  2. an organized group of workmen

  3. a herd of buffaloes or elks or a pack of wild dogs

  4. a group of shearers who travel to different shearing sheds, shearing, classing, and baling wool

    1. a series of similar tools arranged to work simultaneously in parallel

    2. ( as modifier )

      a gang saw
"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

verb

  1. to form into, become part of, or act as a gang

  2. (tr) electronics to mount (two or more components, such as variable capacitors) on the same shaft, permitting adjustment by a single control

"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
gang 2 British  
/ ɡæŋ /

verb

  1. to go

"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
gang 3 British  
/ ɡæŋ /

noun

  1. 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
gang Idioms  

    More idioms and phrases containing gang

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of gang1

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. gang 2

Origin of gang2

First recorded before 900; Middle English gangen, Old English gangan, gongan; cognate with Old High German gangan, Old Norse ganga, Gothic gaggan; cf. gang 1 (noun derivative from same root)

Explanation

A gang is an association or group of criminals. Often, members of one gang will fight violently with another gang. People join gangs for the sense of belonging, as well as for protection by other members. A gang usually claims an area as its territory and defends it against other gangs or unaffiliated criminals. You can also use gang for a group of friends or workers: "A whole gang of us went to the movies together." The Old English root, gang, means "journey." Today's definition comes from the idea of "a band of people traveling together."

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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.

In 2015, she joined the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, where she handles complex murder and other cases in the Gang Homicide Division.

From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026

"We are at a critical early phase of establishing the GSF," said Jack Christofides, the special representative for the Gang Suppression Force, told the UN Security Council.

From Barron's • Apr. 23, 2026

Chief Executive Gang Lu is a native of Shanghai who had gotten a Ph.D. from UCLA, then worked in the U.S. as a scientist and research manager for Western drugmakers including Bristol-Myers.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

Some members from the Gang of Eight — the bipartisan leadership of congressional intelligence committees — read a version of the whistleblower complaint, but it was apparently redacted.

From Salon • Mar. 5, 2026

Eventually, the interference of the Parrish Street Gang in religious affairs led one White Rock minister to protest attempts to “Mutualize” his church.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

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.