Gangway
intj, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 A passageway through which to enter or leave.; An aisle between rows of seating (especially in a train, aircraft or auditorium). Ireland, UK
"The new fleet of trains comes with widened gangways and improved seating."
- 2 passageway between seating areas as in an auditorium or passenger vehicle or between areas of shelves of goods as in stores wordnet
- 3 A passageway through which to enter or leave.; The dividing aisle between the rows of seats on either side of the House of Commons. Used chiefly with reference to terms such as below the gangway. UK, broadly
- 4 a temporary bridge for getting on and off a vessel at dockside wordnet
- 5 A passageway through which to enter or leave.; The narrow space between two buildings or houses, used to access the backyard/alleyway from the front. US
"Morris then allegedly tried to flee into a gangway between the bar and another building, closing a gate on an officer as he did"
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 a temporary passageway of planks (as over mud on a building site) wordnet
- 7 An articulating bridge or ramp, such as from land to a dock or a ship.
"We came over on the usual mid-morning service from Victoria and this time, as we came down the gangway of the Invicta, the Shedmaster at Calais, M. Leclerc, and Henri Dutertre were waiting for us."
- 8 A passage along either side of a ship's upper deck.
- 9 A passage through the side of a ship or an opening in the railing through which the ship may be boarded; (also in later use) a jet bridge.
- 10 A temporary passageway, such as one made of planks. rare
- 11 A clear path through a crowd or a passageway with people. dialectal, obsolete, rare
- 12 An earthen and plank ramp leading from the stable yard into the upper storey or mow of a dairy barn.
- 1 To serve as, furnish with, or conduct oneself as though proceeding on a gangway.
"He gangwayed his way through the crowd, and just as the clock struck midnight, he was standing in front of NBC's camera on national TV as the governor-elect of Minnesota and the first Reform Party candidate ever to be elected to high office."
- 1 Make way! Clear a path!
"And he pushed his way through the crowd crying, "Gangway, gangway!" and dragging Jane and Michael after him."
Example
More examples"The ship lowered its gangway after docking."
Etymology
From Middle English gangway, from Old English gangweġ (“passageway; thoroughfare”), equivalent to gang + way. Related to Dutch gang (“hallway”) and Norwegian gang (“hallway”).
Related phrases
More for "gangway"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.