What does "gambol" mean?

An instance of running or skipping about playfully.

What is a synonym for "gambol"?

Common synonyms include: frolic, play, antic, beam, bob, bounce.

//ˈɡæm.bəl// noun, verb

noun, verb ·Moderate ·College level

Noun

1
An instance of running or skipping about playfully.
"Heere hung those lipps, that I haue kist I know not how oft. VVhere be your Iibes now? Your Gambals? Your Songs? Your flashes of Merriment that were wont to set the Table on a Rore?"
2
gay or light-hearted recreational activity for diversion or amusement wordnet
3
An instance of more general frisking or frolicking.
"There was a delicious sensation of mingled security and awe with which I looked down, from my giddy height, on the monsters of the deep at their uncouth gambols."

Verb

1
To move about playfully; to frolic. intransitive
"The lawn spread freely onward, as of old, over which, in sweet company, he had once gambolled."
2
play boisterously wordnet
3
To do a forward roll. British, West-Midlands

"The lawn spread freely onward, as of old, over which, in sweet company, he had once gambolled."

From earlier gambolde, from Middle French gambade (modern gambade).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.