What does "gag" mean?
A device to restrain speech, such as a rag in the mouth secured with tape or a rubber ball threaded onto a cord or strap.
Gag
/ɡæɡ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A device to restrain speech, such as a rag in the mouth secured with tape or a rubber ball threaded onto a cord or strap.
- Grammar: gag is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: joke, muzzle, acoustic tile, acting.
- Useful contrasts: bore, delight, earnestness.
- Usage evidence: The bandits put a gag in his mouth.
How to use "gag"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gag" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "gag" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "gag" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gag" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "gag" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "joke" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "gag", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A device to restrain speech, such as a rag in the mouth secured with tape or a rubber ball threaded onto a cord or strap. countable, uncountable
"Blood may seep to the back of the throat and may clot, producing an “artificial gag” of clotted blood."
- 2 Abbreviation of group-specific antigen. abbreviation, alt-of
- 3 restraint put into a person's mouth to prevent speaking or shouting wordnet
- 4 An order or rule forbidding discussion of a case or subject. countable, uncountable
- 5 Initialism of glycosaminoglycan. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 a humorous anecdote or remark intended to provoke laughter wordnet
- 7 Any suppression of freedom of speech. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Civil Court blocks PM's gag on free speech"
- 8 A joke or other mischievous prank. countable, uncountable
"We all know how genius “Kamp Krusty,” “A Streetcar Named Marge,” “Homer The Heretic,” “Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie” and “Mr. Plow” are, but even the relatively unheralded episodes offer wall-to-wall laughs and some of the smartest, darkest, and weirdest gags ever Trojan-horsed into a network cartoon with a massive family audience."
- 9 a device or trick used to create a practical effect; a gimmick countable, uncountable
"On Hacksaw Ridge, Oliver and his team of effects artisans devised gags for that spectacular flamethrower shot along with other devastating body and bullet hits, and several mortar and full-scale explosions, all aimed at communicating the reality of battle."
- 10 A convulsion of the upper digestive tract. countable, uncountable
- 11 A mouthful that makes one retch or choke. archaic, countable, uncountable
"L. has recorded the repugnance of the school to gags, or the fat of fresh beef boiled, and sets it down to some superstition."
- 12 Unscripted lines introduced by an actor into his part. archaic, slang, uncountable
""The Critic" has long been known in the theatre as a "gag-piece;" that is, a play which the performers consider themselves entitled to treat with the most merciless licence."
- 13 Mycteroperca microlepis, a species of grouper. countable, uncountable
"The shallow water groups (Family Serranidae), including gag (Mycteroperca microlepis), black grouper (M. bonaci), scamp (M. phenax), and red grouper (Epinephalus morio), support major commercial and recreational fisheries in the southeastern United States."
- 14 A shocking or surprising thing. countable, uncountable
"That’s why it was a surprise when Elecktra Bionic won instead of her. No queen in Drag Race history had ever won with no challenge wins before Elecktra, so to say it was a gag would be an understatement."
Verb
- 1 To experience the vomiting reflex. intransitive
"He gagged when he saw the open wound."
- 2 make an unsuccessful effort to vomit; strain to vomit wordnet
- 3 To cause to heave with nausea. transitive
"His empty stomach was suddenly full of butterflies, and for the first time since arriving here at scenic Durkin Grove Village, he felt an urge to gag himself. He would be able to think more clearly about this if he just stuck his fingers down his throat […]"
- 4 cause to retch or choke wordnet
- 5 To restrain someone's speech by blocking his or her mouth. transitive
"“[…] Captain Markam had been found lying half-insensible, gagged and bound, on the floor of the sitting-room, his hands and feet tightly pinioned, and a woollen comforter wound closely round his mouth and neck ; whilst Mrs. Markham's jewel-case, containing valuable jewellery and the secret plans of Port Arthur, had disappeared. […]”"
Show 10 more definitions
- 6 struggle for breath; have insufficient oxygen intake wordnet
- 7 To pry or hold open by means of a gag. transitive
"1917, Francis Gregor (translator), De Laudibus Legum Angliae, Sir John Fortescue, written 1468–1471, first published 1543. […] some have their mouths gagged to such a wideness, for a long time, whereat such quantities of water are poured in, that their bellies swell to a prodigious degree […]"
- 8 make jokes or quips wordnet
- 9 To restrain someone's speech without using physical means. figuratively, transitive
"When the financial irregularities were discovered, the CEO gagged everyone in the accounting department."
- 10 tie a gag around someone's mouth in order to silence them wordnet
- 11 To choke; to retch. ambitransitive
- 12 be too tight; rub or press wordnet
- 13 To deceive (someone); to con. ambitransitive, obsolete, slang
"I endeavoured what I could to soften off the affectation of her sudden change of Disposition; and I gagged the Gentleman with as much ease as my very little ease would allow me to assume."
- 14 prevent from speaking out wordnet
- 15 To astonish (someone); to leave speechless. transitive
"I knew who you were as a [RuPaul's] Drag Race fan. So I was gagged personally and I still am gagged, but it was quite divine intervention. Thom Kerr, the photographer, really got the ball rolling and I had no idea what to expect of this shoot besides greatness."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"The bandits put a gag in his mouth."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gag"?
Common synonyms include: joke, muzzle, acoustic tile, acting, antiknock, asphyxiate.
How do you use "gag" in a sentence?
The bandits put a gag in his mouth.
How do you pronounce "gag"?
Pronounced /ɡæɡ/.
Etymology
The noun is from Early Modern English gagge; the verb is from Middle English gaggen. Possibly imitative or perhaps related to or influenced by Old Norse gag-háls ("with head thrown backwards"; > Norwegian dialectal gaga (“bent backwards”)). The intransitive sense "to retch" is from 1707. The noun is from the 16th century, figurative use (for "repression of speech") from the 1620s. The secondary meaning "(practical) joke" is from 1863, of unclear origin.