Gangplank
noun ·2 syllables ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A board used as a temporary footbridge between a ship and a dockside.
"Every since the age of six Troy Belknap of New York had embarked for Europe every June on the fastest steamer of one of the most expensive lines. With his family he had descended at the dock from a large noiseless motor, had kissed his father good-bye, turned back to shake hands with the chauffeur (a particular friend), and trotted up the gang-plank behind his mother's maid, [...]"
- 2 a temporary bridge for getting on and off a vessel at dockside wordnet
Example
More examples"Every since the age of six Troy Belknap of New York had embarked for Europe every June on the fastest steamer of one of the most expensive lines. With his family he had descended at the dock from a large noiseless motor, had kissed his father good-bye, turned back to shake hands with the chauffeur (a particular friend), and trotted up the gang-plank behind his mother's maid, [...]"
Etymology
From gang (“way, path, course of travel”) + plank (“board”).
Related phrases
More for "gangplank"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.