gangplank

[gang-plangk]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR gangplank ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a flat plank or small, movable, bridgelike structure for use by persons boarding or leaving a ship at a pier.

Origin of gangplank

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; gang¹ + plank

Also called brow, gangway.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for gangplank

overpass, link, platform, corridor, passageway, walkway, gangplank, catwalk, span, extension, scaffold, viaduct, pontoon, trestle, connection, branch, tie, transit, arch, wing

Examples from the Web for gangplank

Contemporary Examples of gangplank

Adam Senatori remembers that long, cold walk down the gangplank.
How Airline Pilot and Instagram Star Adam Senatori Gets Perspective from 1,400 Feet
Oliver Jones
October 13, 2014

Historical Examples of gangplank

Here all hands crowded over the gangplank and into the stores.
A Woman who went to Alaska
May Kellogg Sullivan
Mr. Rover met the newcomers at the gangplank and made them welcome.
The Rover Boys on Treasure Isle
Edward Stratemeyer (AKA Arthur M. Winfield)
Just before the gangplank was drawn in, two persons hastily crossed it.
The Young Adventurer
Horatio Alger
Soon they were all on board, the gangplank drawn in, and the ship started.
Marjorie's Busy Days
Carolyn Wells
Well, when ye haul in the gangplank, so to speak, I'll be aboard!
Tom Swift and His Giant Telescope
Victor Appleton

British Dictionary definitions for gangplank

gangplank

gangway

noun

nautical a portable bridge for boarding and leaving a vessel at dockside

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

Word Origin and History for gangplank

1846, American English, from gang + plank. Replacing earlier gang-board.