gin

¹ American  

[jin] / dʒɪn /

noun

1. an alcoholic liquor obtained by distilling grain mash with juniper berries.

2. an alcoholic liquor similar to this, made by redistilling spirits with flavoring agents, especially juniper berries, orange peel, angelica root, etc.

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gin ² American  

[jin] / dʒɪn /

noun

1. cotton gin.

   Did Whitney's invention of the gin actually enable an expansion in the slave trade?

2. a trap or snare for game.

   They learned how to devise a simple gin for catching rabbits and quail and such.

3. any of various machines employing simple tackle or windlass mechanisms for hoisting.

   She finished developing her father's design of a gin that would facilitate safer movement of large parts in the manufacturing plant.

4. a stationary prime mover having a drive shaft rotated by horizontal beams pulled by horses walking in a circle.

   The gins were activated by teams of horses to power the pulley system that hauled the coal out of the mines.

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verb (used with object)

ginned, ginning

1. to clear (cotton) of seeds with a gin.

   The weather's fine today for ginning cotton.

2. to snare (game).

   Hey! Looks like you ginned a woodcock.

gin ³ American  

[gin] / gɪn /

verb (used with or without object)

gan, gun, ginning

1. Archaic. to begin.

   At twilight, gin we our leave.

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gin ⁴ American  

[jin] / dʒɪn /

noun

1. Also called gin rummy.  a variety of rummy for two players, in which a player with 10 or fewer points in unmatched cards can end the game by laying down the hand.

   They get together ever Tuesday for a friendly game of gin.

2. the winning of such a game by laying down a full set of matched cards, earning the winner a bonus of 20 or 25 points.

   Sorry, but that's gin for me again.

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verb (used without object)

ginned, ginning

1. to win a game in gin by laying down a hand in which all 10 cards are included in sets.

   How many times has she ginned tonight?

gin ⁵ American  

[gin] / gɪn /

conjunction

Chiefly Scot. and Southern Appalachian.

1. if; whether.

   It's a beast of a river to cross, gin ye dare.

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gin ⁶ American  

[jin] / dʒɪn /

Or jin

noun

Australian Informal: Offensive.

1. an Aboriginal woman.

2. an Aboriginal wife.

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gin ¹ British  

/ dʒɪn /

noun

1. a primitive engine in which a vertical shaft is turned by horses driving a horizontal beam or yoke in a circle

2. Also called: cotton gin.  a machine of this type used for separating seeds from raw cotton

3. a trap for catching small mammals, consisting of a noose of thin strong wire

4. a hand-operated hoist that consists of a drum winder turned by a crank

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verb

1. to free (cotton) of seeds with a gin

2. to trap or snare (game) with a gin

gin ² British  

/ dʒɪn /

noun

1. an alcoholic drink obtained by distillation and rectification of the grain of malted barley, rye, or maize, flavoured with juniper berries

2. any of various grain spirits flavoured with other fruit or aromatic essences

   sloe gin

3. an alcoholic drink made from any rectified spirit

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gin ³ British  

/ ɡɪn /

verb

1. an archaic word for begin

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gin ⁴ British  

/ ɡɪn /

conjunction

1. if

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gin ⁵ British  

/ dʒɪn /

noun

1. offensive an Aboriginal woman

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Other Word Forms

• ginner
  noun

Etymology

Origin of gin¹

First recorded in 1705–15; shortened from geneva, alteration of Dutch genever “gin,” literally “juniper” (because the liquor was flavored with juniper berries), from Old French genevre “juniper plant,” from assumed Vulgar Latin jeniperus, from Latin juniperus

Origin of gin²

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English gyn, shortened variant of Old French engin “innate quality, clever invention”; see origin at engine

Origin of gin³

First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English ginnen, Old English ginnan, shortened variant of onginnan, beginnen “to begin”; see begin

Origin of gin⁴

First recorded in 1955–60; perhaps special use of gin ¹, a shortening of the variant gin rummy, recorded in 1940–45

Origin of gin⁵

First recorded in 1665–75; variously explained as sense development of gien “given” ( see gie, -en ³); as contraction of gif ( see if, an ²; cf. iffen); or as a shortening of again

Origin of gin⁶

First recorded in 1790–1800; from Dharuk di-yin, diyin “woman, old woman”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gin gan ginned ginning gun

Elderflower liqueur is also the star in my spritz riffing on the Greyhound cocktail, which combines gin or vodka with grapefruit juice and club soda.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

But the silence has catalyzed non-Swiftie onlookers to gin up something decisively, inarguably odious to place at the singer’s feet.

From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026

But many recall how the place kept alive a fragment of Delhi's elite past through small rituals: liveried waiters at dusk, gin and lime on shaded verandas, retired generals and diplomats lingering under neem trees.

From BBC ● May 25, 2026

“It’s too late now to gin up something to harm a competitor,” Bill Savitt, a lawyer for OpenAI, had argued in his opening statement.

From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026

They make their choices the way my dad moves cards around in his gin rummy hand.

From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko

Along the way, I acquired some new words in Korean, like bangsaneung for radiation and gan for liver.

From Slate ● Mar. 6, 2023

Datganiad o gefnogaeth gan yr Urdd i ffoaduriaid Wcráin.

From BBC ● Mar. 21, 2022

Then there’s the city’s signature dish, hot dry noodles, or re gan mian.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 6, 2020

Then the cousin laughed and they gan bei-ed.

From The New Yorker ● Nov. 11, 2019

Ron was now staring at Lockhart with an expression of disbelief on his face; Seamus Linni- gan and Dean Thomas, who were sitting in front, were shaking with silent laughter.

From "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" by J. K. Rowling

Some of the online pushback was ginned up by bots.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

McCartney, 15, ginned up the courage to approach Lennon after his set; their bond was forged over a mutual passion for Little Richard and Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2025

Spotify users who have been amused by these thrice-daily servings of word salad might be surprised — or, just as likely, not — to learn that the playlist names are ginned up by A.I.

From New York Times ● Jan. 24, 2024

Ausserer, during his closing argument, insinuated Ellis’ family lawyer ginned up evidence against the officers by collecting cellphone videos and interviews from eyewitnesses who implicated the officers.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 12, 2023

White suspected that Hale had ginned up the document while trying to obtain the insurance policy, and altered it after realizing that he had blundered on the date.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

It refers to ginning up the gene pool through tools like gene editing and A.I. enhancement, the argument being that manipulating genes can make us better, faster, smarter.

From Slate ● Mar. 19, 2026

The administration is ginning up more beef demand, too.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 2026

“If you want to be able to keep ginning up Black Detroiters to vote, having some representation in the Congress is important.”

From Seattle Times ● May 21, 2024

The orchestra was just being factual in ginning up a little excitement at a climactic moment in the six-decade career of one of the most eminent figures in classical music.

From New York Times ● Jun. 17, 2023

Just as well, as the campaign to bring me up to domestic scratch was, without my knowledge or cooperation, ginning up in earnest.

From "The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate" by Jacqueline Kelly

Brook arrived when Razaullah was pushing the speed gun, and the England vice-captain also had to battle his recent weakness with the wicketkeeper standing up.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

"When we figured out what it was, we knew that it was the smoking gun that we'd been looking for."

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

“Parents and their children do not want the visible reminder of gun violence and the fear that comes along with that when they’re dropping their kids off at school,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

She has been calling parents on the waitlist for the original campus, offering them spots in Goleta, but “they’re feeling a little iffy” about the gun store.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

The gun is tucked back inside the saddlebag.

From "Will’s Race for Home" by Jewell Parker Rhodes

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