road gang

American  

noun

1. a group of workers employed to repair or build roads.

2. (in the U.S.) a detail of prisoners set to repairing a road.

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Etymology

Origin of road gang

First recorded in 1885–90

Example Sentences

Jackson answered while working on a road gang to fulfill his sentence, picking up trash on the side of a Michigan highway.

From Washington Post • Jun. 20, 2020

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., holder of degrees from at least five colleges, may spend the time on a road gang if an appeal is denied.

From Washington Times • May 4, 2020

Each day for the past five months, a road gang has toiled on a Sisyphean task along the muddy Atlantic Coast, trying to fill a breach in a 60-mile sea wall with stones and sand.

From New York Times • Apr. 7, 2020

He announced that he had started out on a road gang himself after finishing high school, asked a dump-truck crew: "How much does this truck hold?"

From Time Magazine Archive

The road gang had already put a bridge over the place that had delayed us on coming out, and the road throughout was easy and safe.

From The Lake of the Sky Lake Tahoe in the High Sierras of California and Nevada, its History, Indians, Discovery by Frémont, Legendary Lore, Various Namings, Physical Characteristics, Glacial Phenomena, Geology, Single Outlet, Automobile Routes, Historic Towns, Early Mining Excitements, Steamer Ride, Mineral Springs, Mountain and Lake Resorts, Trail and Camping Out Trips, Summer Residences, Fishing, Hunting, Flowers, Birds, Animals, Trees, and Chaparral, with a Full Account of the Tahoe National Forest, the Public Use of the Water of Lake Tahoe and Much Other Interesting Matter by James, George Wharton