gangster
Americannoun
-
gangsters
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of gangster
Compare meaning
How does gangster compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A gangster is a member of a criminal gang. Gangsters are sometimes called mobsters. A gang is a criminal organization, and a member of such a group is a gangster. Gangsters work together to commit robberies and break the law in other ways. Many famous movies, such as The Godfather, are about gangsters. This word often refers specifically to members of criminal gangs of the 1920s and 30s, when organized crime frequently involved the smuggling of alcohol.
Vocabulary lists containing gangster
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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.
See Examples For:
I think that’s the first time that Yasmin became a gangster.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026
His whereabouts are known by the loathsome twin giant worms, a brother and sister, who took over the planet Nal Hutta after the slaying of its gangster boss, Jabba the Hutt.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026
The Scottish Liberal Democrat leader branded the US president a "gangster".
From BBC ● Apr. 15, 2026
The script is by Ed Solomon, who also collaborated with Soderbergh on the more action-packed 2021 gangster movie “No Sudden Move.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 9, 2026
He'd seen plenty of gangster movies, and the FBI always caught the bad guys.
From Nazi Saboteurs by Samantha Seiple
Officials no longer talk about eliminating the PCC but managing its uneasy coexistence with the state—often leaving investigators frustrated or stunned by the links between gangsters and the state itself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 20, 2026
Some of its most notable inmates have included notorious gangsters Al Capone, Mickey Cohen and George "Machine Gun" Kelly.
From BBC ● Apr. 4, 2026
There may have been some male suitors but never any who were gangsters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 26, 2026
Critics say the links between Karachi’s gangsters and Islamist terrorists are overdrawn, that the real Karachi is far less glamorous than its Bollywood incarnation, and that one character’s Punjabi accent isn’t quite right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
Instead of moving on and making way for the younger gangsters to ascend, the veterans stayed put.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
