gig

¹ American  

[gig] / gɪg /

noun

1. a single professional engagement of one or more performers, especially of jazz or rock musicians.

   His band has a gig at a club in New Jersey.

2. a live performance, as on a stage.

   I went to see my friend's comedy gig.

3. any job, especially one of short or uncertain duration.

   Years ago he had a teaching gig out west somewhere.

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adjective

1. relating to or being a job of short or uncertain duration.

   Gig workers don't receive benefits such as health insurance.

verb (used without object)

gigged, gigging

1. to work as a musician or other performer, especially in a single engagement.

   That vocalist has gigged with some of the biggest names in the business.

2. to work at any job, especially one of short or uncertain duration.

   He gigs as a clown at children’s birthday parties.

gig ² American  

[gig] / gɪg /

noun

Informal.

1. short for gigabyte.

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gig ³ American  

[gig] / gɪg /

noun

1. a light, two-wheeled one-horse carriage.

2. Nautical.

   1. a light boat rowed with four, six, or eight long oars.

   2. a boat reserved for the use of the captain of a ship.

3. something that whirls.

4. Also called gig mill. a roller containing teasels, used for raising nap on a fabric.

5. Obsolete. whirligig.

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verb (used without object)

gigged, gigging

1. to ride in a gig.

2. to raise the nap on (a fabric).

gig ⁴ American  

[gig] / gɪg /

noun

1. a device, commonly four hooks secured back to back, for dragging through a school of fish to hook them through the body.

2. a spearlike device with a long, thick handle, used for spearing fish and frogs.

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verb (used with object)

gigged, gigging

1. to catch or spear (a fish or frog) with a gig.

verb (used without object)

gigged, gigging

1. to catch fish or frogs with a gig.

gig ⁵ American  

[gig] / gɪg /

noun

1. an official report of a minor infraction of regulations, as in school or the army; a demerit.

2. a punishment for a minor infraction of rules.

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verb (used with object)

gigged, gigging

1. to give a gig to or punish with a gig.

gig ¹ British  

/ ɡɪɡ /

noun

1. a light two-wheeled one-horse carriage without a hood

2. nautical a light tender for a vessel, often for the personal use of the captain

3. a long light rowing boat, used esp for racing

4. a machine for raising the nap of a fabric

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verb

1. (intr) to travel in a gig

2. (tr) to raise the nap of (fabric)

gig ² British  

/ ɡɪɡ /

noun

1. a cluster of barbless hooks drawn through a shoal of fish to try to impale them

2. short for fishgig

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verb

1. to catch (fish) with a gig

gig ³ British  

/ ɡɪɡ /

noun

1. a job, esp a single booking for a musician, comedian, etc, to perform at a concert or club

2. the performance itself

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verb

1. (intr) to perform at a gig or gigs

gig ⁴ British  

/ ɡɪɡ /

noun

1. informal short for gigabyte

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Etymology

Origin of gig¹

First recorded in 1925–30; origin uncertain

Origin of gig²

First recorded in 1985–90

Origin of gig³

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English gigge, gig “flighty girl, loose woman; awkward or boorish man”; akin to Danish gig “top”; compare Norwegian giga “to shake about”

Origin of gig⁴

First recorded in 1700–10; shortened from fishgig or fizgig

Origin of gig⁵

First recorded in 1940–45; origin uncertain

Explanation

A gig is a band's musical performance or an appointment for such a performance. Your band's first gig might be playing at a high school prom. Performers of various kinds book gigs: they arrange to do a show at a specific place and time. If you're a standup comedian, you might dream of a gig at a big concert hall, but have to be satisfied with gigs in church basements and coffee shops. Sometimes people who do freelance work also refer to jobs as gigs. The word comes from early 20th century jazz slang.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gig gigged gigging

It’s a rare dream gig that falls into your lap, and it was such a fun experience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026

Staying true to its seasonal carny roots, almost all professional wrestlers are gig workers.

From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026

But she formed her piano-bass-drums group ahead of a gig at New York’s Village Vanguard in the winter of 2024, and it has become her primary vehicle.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Authorities announced that the Arena 1 Park gig could not go ahead, citing failures by the venue to comply with safety regulations.

From BBC ● Sep. 25, 2026

My first legally paying gig was at a Baskin-Robbins within rollerblading distance of our house.

From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi

So while “Goin’ Local” is technically Kaye’s first solo record, back in 1984, there was another project, the Lenny Kaye Connection, a quartet which gigged around New York City and environs.

From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026

For 15 years, both with a band and on his own, DeBardi had gigged around Everett and Western Washington under the moniker Steel Beans in relative obscurity.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 16, 2024

She gigged in pubs, clubs and caravan parks around the north-west of England and north Wales and formed her own short-lived girl group.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2021

We started doing the London comedy circuit around the same time, and so we’ve gigged together a lot.

From New York Times ● Aug. 26, 2021

Though of course they wouldn’t have been gigged.

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

After graduating from high school in 1948, Rollins started gigging around New York and, by the early 1950s, was recording with Bud Powell, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker and Thelonious Monk, who Rollins called his “guru.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026

"We cannot lose this music as we are on the way out," pleaded Diasihilua, who has already spent 50 of his 73 years on earth gigging.

From Barron's ● Feb. 18, 2026

Years before the turning point of that album, though, Weinberg was growing up in Jersey, where he was “a gigging drummer” even as a child.

From Salon ● Oct. 14, 2025

“At least he was still gigging until recently, it was something that kept him going, to be out there whenever he could. He will be missed by us all. Rest in peace mate,” Harris said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 21, 2024

I couldn’t see myself hanging around Wilmington working at a 7-Eleven, gigging in a pop band that played the VEW and other seedy country joints, which is what I was doing.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

Related Words

• appearance
• concert
• engagement
• recital