What does "gang" mean?
A number going in company; a number of friends or persons associated for a particular purpose.
Gang
/ɡæŋ/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A number going in company; a number of friends or persons associated for a particular purpose.
- Grammar: gang is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: crew, mob, affiliate, age group.
- Useful contrasts: disband, dissolve, independent worker.
- Usage evidence: Lander assumes that rioting and gang behavior are a result of poverty and poor economic conditions.
How to use "gang"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gang" 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 "gang" 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 "gang" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gang" 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 "gang" is acting as noun, verb 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 "crew" 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 "gang", 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 number going in company; a number of friends or persons associated for a particular purpose.
"the Gashouse Gang"
- 2 Alternative form of gangue. alt-of, alternative, countable, uncountable
- 3 tool consisting of a combination of implements arranged to work together wordnet
- 4 A group of laborers under one foreman; a squad or workgang.
"a gang of sailors; a railroad gang; a labor gang or pool."
- 5 an organized group of workmen wordnet
Show 14 more definitions
- 6 A criminal group with a common cultural background and identifying features, often associated with a particular section of a city.
"a youth gang; a neighborhood gang; motorcycle gang."
- 7 an association of criminals wordnet
- 8 A group of criminals or alleged criminals who band together for mutual protection and profit.
"The Winter Hill Gang was quite proficient at murdering rival mobsters in order to take over their rackets."
- 9 an informal body of friends wordnet
- 10 A group of politicians united in furtherance of a political goal.
"The Gang of Four was led by Jiang Qing, the fourth wife of Mao Zedong."
- 11 A chain gang. US
- 12 A combination of similar tools or implements arranged so as, by acting together, to save time or labor; a set.
"a gang of saws; a gang of plows; a gang drill; gang milling."
- 13 A set; all required for an outfit.
"a new gang of stays."
- 14 A number of switches or other electrical devices wired into one unit and covered by one faceplate.
"an outlet gang box; a double gang switch."
- 15 A group of wires attached as a bundle.
"a gang of wires"
- 16 A going, journey; a course, path, track. dialectal
"In unploughed Maine he sought the lumberers’ gang / Where from a hundred lakes young rivers sprang"
- 17 An outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory. obsolete
- 18 A term of address for a group, particularly when cautioning them or offering advice.
- 19 A term of address for a group, particularly when cautioning them or offering advice.; A term of address for any other person or group of people. Internet, broadly
"The sun isn't real? What are you even talking about, gang?"
Verb
- 1 To go; walk; proceed. Northern-England, Scotland, intransitive
"(Colin alone) Ah, Colin, thou’rt a prodigal; a thriftless loon thou’st been, that cou’d na’ keep a little pelf to thysall when thou had’st got it; now thou may’st gang in this poor geer to thy live's end, and worse too for aught I can tell; ’faith, mon, ’twas a smeart little bysack of money thou hadst scrap’d together, an the best part of it had na’ being last amongst thy kinsfolk, in the Isles of Skey and Mull; muckle gude may it do the weams of them that ha’ it! There was Jamie MacGregor and Sawney MacNab, and the twa braw lads of Kinruddin, with old Charley MacDougall, my mother's first husband's second cousin: by my sol I cou’d na’ see such near relations, and gentlemen of sich auncient families gang upon bare feet, while I rode a horseback: I had been na’ true Scot, an I cou’d na’ ge’en a countryman a gude last upon occasion (as he is going out, Miss Aubrey enters.)"
- 2 To attach similar items together to form a larger unit. transitive
"Volume controls may be ganged to mode switches to provide maximum output […]"
- 3 Pronunciation spelling of gan. alt-of, pronunciation-spelling
- 4 Synonym of gangbang.
"He still liked the idea of them all ganging her [...]"
- 5 act as an organized group wordnet
Antonyms
Example
"Lander assumes that rioting and gang behavior are a result of poverty and poor economic conditions."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gang"?
Common synonyms include: crew, mob, affiliate, age group, alliance, ally.
How do you use "gang" in a sentence?
Lander assumes that rioting and gang behavior are a result of poverty and poor economic conditions.
How do you pronounce "gang"?
Pronounced /ɡæŋ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English gangen, from Old English gangan (“to go, walk, turn out”), from Proto-West Germanic *gangan, from Proto-Germanic *ganganą (“to go, walk”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- (“to step, walk”). Cognate with Scots gang (“to go on foot, walk”), Swedish gånga (“to walk, go”), Faroese ganga (“to walk”), Icelandic ganga (“to walk, go”), Vedic Sanskrit जंहस् (jáṃhas). Ultimately related to Etymology 2, which see below.
Etymology 2
From Middle English gang, from Old English gang (“a journey; way; passage”), from Proto-West Germanic *gang, from Proto-Germanic *gangaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰongʰ-o-s, from *ǵʰengʰ- (“to step; stride”). Cognate with Saterland Frisian Gong, Dutch gang, German Gang, Norwegian gang, Swedish gång, Icelandic gangur, Vedic Sanskrit जंहस् (jáṃhas).
Etymology 3
See gan.
Etymology 4
Shortening of gangbang.