What does "gin" mean?
A colourless non-aged alcoholic liquor made by distilling fermented grains such as barley, corn, oats or rye with juniper berries; the base for many cocktails.
Gin
/d͡ʒɪn/ conj, noun, verb
conj, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A colourless non-aged alcoholic liquor made by distilling fermented grains such as barley, corn, oats or rye with juniper berries; the base for many cocktails.
- Grammar: gin is listed as conj, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: snare, absinthe, allure, angostura bitters.
- Useful contrasts: dampen, depress, free.
- Usage evidence: Let's qualify this gin with tonic water.
How to use "gin"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gin" 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 "gin" 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 "gin" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gin" 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 "gin" is acting as conj, 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 "snare" 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 "gin", 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 colourless non-aged alcoholic liquor made by distilling fermented grains such as barley, corn, oats or rye with juniper berries; the base for many cocktails. countable, uncountable
- 2 A trick; a device or instrument. obsolete
- 3 An Aboriginal woman. Australia, ethnic, slur
"His next shot was discharged amongst the mob, and most unfortunately wounded the gin already mentioned ; who, with a child fastened to her back, slid down the bank, and lay, apparently dying, with her legs in the water."
- 4 An ethnic Vietnamese, in reference to those whose lands are in China.
- 5 a form of rummy in which a player can go out if the cards remaining in their hand total less than 10 points wordnet
Show 13 more definitions
- 6 Gin rummy. uncountable
- 7 A scheme; contrivance; artifice; a figurative trap or snare. obsolete
"The church dores were sparred, Fast boltyd and barryd, Yet wyth a prety gyn I fortuned to come in, […]"
- 8 a machine that separates the seeds from raw cotton fibers wordnet
- 9 Drawing the best card or combination of cards. countable, uncountable
"Johnny Chan held jack-nine, and hit gin when a queen-ten-eight board was dealt out."
- 10 A snare or trap for game.
"It was the cry of a rabbit caught in a gin."
- 11 a trap for birds or small mammals; often has a slip noose wordnet
- 12 A machine for raising or moving heavy objects, consisting of a tripod formed of poles united at the top, with a windlass, pulleys, ropes, etc.
- 13 strong liquor flavored with juniper berries wordnet
- 14 A hoisting drum, usually vertical; a whim.
- 15 A pile driver.
- 16 A windpump.
- 17 A cotton gin.
- 18 An instrument of torture worked with screws.
Verb
- 1 To remove the seeds from cotton with a cotton gin. transitive
- 2 To begin. Early, Modern, archaic
"Gon. All three of them are deſperate : their great guilt / (Like poyſon giuen to worke a great time after) / Now gins to bite the ſpirits :[…]"
- 3 trap with a snare wordnet
- 4 To trap something in a gin. transitive
- 5 separate the seeds from (cotton) with a cotton gin wordnet
Conjunction
- 1 If. Appalachia, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern-US
"[…]for pronouncing according as one would ſay at London I would eat more cheeſe if I had it, the Northern man ſaith, Ay ſuld eat mare cheeſe gin ay hadet, and the Weſterne man ſaith Chud eat more cheeſe an chad it."
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Let's qualify this gin with tonic water."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gin"?
Common synonyms include: snare, absinthe, allure, angostura bitters, bait the hook, baited trap.
How do you use "gin" in a sentence?
Let's qualify this gin with tonic water.
How do you pronounce "gin"?
Pronounced /d͡ʒɪn/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
Abbreviation of geneva, alteration of Dutch genever (“juniper”) from Old French genevre (modern French genièvre), from Vulgar Latin ziniperus, from Latin iūniperus (“juniper”). Hence gin rummy (first attested 1941).
Etymology 2
Partly from Middle English gin, ginne (“cleverness, scheme, talent, device, machine”), from Old French gin, an aphetism of Old French engin (“engine”); and partly from Middle English grin, grine (“snare, trick, stratagem, deceit, temptation, noose, halter, instrument”), from Old English grin, gryn, giren (“snare, gin, noose”).
Etymology 3
Inherited from Middle English ginnen (“to begin”), contraction of beginnen.
Etymology 4
Borrowed from Dharug dyin (“woman”), but having acquired a derogatory tone.
Etymology 5
Cognate to Scots gin (“if”): perhaps from gi(v)en, or a compound in which the first element is from Old English ġif (English if) and the second is cognate to English an (“if”) (compare iffen), or perhaps from again.
Etymology 6
A Hanyu Pinyin-esque romanization of Vietnamese Kinh (京).