to force (a person) into military or naval service.
to coerce (a person) into taking a certain action, political stand, etc..
to be press-ganged into endorsing a candidate.
to force (a person) to join the navy or army by a press gang
to induce (a person) to perform a duty by forceful persuasion
his friends press-ganged him into joining the committee
First recorded in 1685–95
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He either issues puffs of air or decisions with the nuance of a press gang.
From Washington Post • Aug. 2, 2022
Faced with a blank no comment, one of the Downing Street press gang instead quizzed the PM’s spokesperson on the status of the U.K’s pig semen deal with China, to the sniggers of colleagues.
From Time • Sep. 21, 2015
I considered that again because I felt that if I did so I would be immediately accused of trying to influence or press gang someone.
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2013
But the press gang harvested its greatest crop of seamen on the seas.
From Jefferson and His Colleagues; a chronicle of the Virginia dynasty by Johnson, Allen
Their part of the press gang took of course the same view, while the Starboard watch, headed by Dogvane, declared with great zeal and certainty that things were never better.
From The Life of a Celebrated Buccaneer A Page of Past History for the Use of the Children of To-day by Clynton, Richard
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.
