What does "gird" mean?
A sarcastic remark.
Gird
/ɡɜːd/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sarcastic remark.
- Grammar: gird is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: encircle, arm, band, bandage.
- Useful contrasts: relax, unbrace, unbuckle.
- Usage evidence: All straightway gird them to the feast. These flay / the ribs and thighs, and lay the entrails bare. / Those slice the flesh, and split the quivering prey, / and tend the fires and set the cauldrons in array.
How to use "gird"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "gird" 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 "gird" 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 "gird" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "gird" 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 "gird" 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 "encircle" 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 "gird", 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 sarcastic remark.
"I thank thee for that gird, good Tranio."
- 2 A stroke with a rod or switch.
- 3 A severe spasm; a twinge; a pang.
"Conscience […] is freed from many fearful girds and twinges which the atheist feels."
Verb
- 1 To bind with a flexible rope or cord. transitive
"The fasces were girt about with twine in bundles large."
- 2 To jeer at. transitive
"Being moved, he will not spare to gird the gods."
- 3 prepare oneself for a military confrontation wordnet
- 4 To encircle with, or as if with a belt. transitive
"a castle girded with a moat"
- 5 To jeer. intransitive
"Men of all sorts take a pride to gird at me."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 bind with something round or circular wordnet
- 7 To prepare (oneself) for an action. reflexive, transitive
"Associate your selues, O ye people, and yee shalbe broken in pieces; and giue eare all ye of farre countreys: gird your selues, and ye shalbe broken in pieces; gird your selues, and ye shalbe broken in pieces."
- 8 put a girdle on or around wordnet
- 9 (of a vessel towing another) To be pulled on sideways by its towline, putting it at risk of capsizing. intransitive
"On 19 July 2009, the tug North Arm Venture was towing the barge North Arm Express, loaded with fuel and deck cargo, from Toba Inlet to Sechelt Inlet. The tug girded and capsized at approximately 1250 Pacific Daylight Time while making a turn to port at the entrance to Sechelt Rapids .... Girding is defined as a situation where a vessel experiences athwartship forces from its towline. This situation can lead to a capsizing or foundering."
Example
"All straightway gird them to the feast. These flay / the ribs and thighs, and lay the entrails bare. / Those slice the flesh, and split the quivering prey, / and tend the fires and set the cauldrons in array."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "gird"?
Common synonyms include: encircle, arm, band, bandage, beef up, begird.
How do you use "gird" in a sentence?
All straightway gird them to the feast. These flay / the ribs and thighs, and lay the entrails bare. / Those slice the flesh, and split the quivering prey, / and tend the fires and set the cauldrons in array.
How do you pronounce "gird"?
Pronounced /ɡɜːd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English girden, gerden, gürden, from Old English gyrdan (“to put a belt around, to put a girdle around”), from Proto-Germanic *gurdijaną (“to gird”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰerdʰ-. Cognate with West Frisian gurdzje, girdzje, Dutch gorden, German gürten, Swedish gjorda, Icelandic gyrða, Albanian ngërthej (“to tie together by weaving, to bind”).
Etymology 2
From Middle English girden (“to strike”), from Old English *gyrdan.