gang
1 Americannoun
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a group or band.
A gang of boys gathered around the winning pitcher.
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a group of youngsters or adolescents who associate closely, often exclusively, for social reasons, especially such a group engaging in delinquent behavior.
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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.
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a group of persons working together; squad; shift.
a gang of laborers.
- Synonyms:
- team
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a group of persons associated for some criminal or other antisocial purpose.
a gang of thieves.
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a set of tools, electronic components or circuits, oars, etc., arranged to work together or simultaneously.
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a group of identical or related items.
verb (used with object)
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to arrange in groups or sets; form into a gang.
to gang illustrations for more economical printing on one sheet.
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to attack in a gang.
verb (used without object)
verb phrase
verb (used without object)
noun
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a group of people who associate together or act as an organized body, esp for criminal or illegal purposes
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an organized group of workmen
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a herd of buffaloes or elks or a pack of wild dogs
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a group of shearers who travel to different shearing sheds, shearing, classing, and baling wool
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a series of similar tools arranged to work simultaneously in parallel
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( as modifier )
a gang saw
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verb
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to form into, become part of, or act as a gang
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(tr) electronics to mount (two or more components, such as variable capacitors) on the same shaft, permitting adjustment by a single control
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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."
Vocabulary lists containing gang
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.
See Examples For:
“Most interestingly — and I find this kind of exciting actually — every night around 10 or 11, you start to hear this gang of coyotes howling,” resident Paul Manganello told KTLA.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Meanwhile in Edinburgh, the two other members of the former gang are going nowhere fast.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026
River inspired Arturo Gonzalez to found his arts education nonprofit that focuses on gang intervention among young people in East L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
Political upheaval gave way to gang violence following the 2021 assassination of Haiti’s president, resulting in more Haitians seeking the status in the early 2020s.
From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2026
“Your plan is working out, Chief! Look, there’s old Fangburn and his gang nearly at the top of the wall.”
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
We get an example of the buying power of the gangs from another police officer, in a different location.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Talley denied that Quintero is affiliated with the Mexican Mafia, a group of about 140 men who control most Latino gangs in Southern California.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
There are more than a million Rohingyas living in over-crowded camps in southern Bangladesh, where aid is drying up, there are almost no jobs, and organised crime gangs operate freely.
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
The 51-year-old inherits the task of running a country hit by powerful organized crime gangs and chronic political instability.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Kiyo and I were too young to run around, but often we would eat in gangs with other kids, while the grownups sat at another table.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
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.
