gang

SayGANG/ɡæŋ/

Pluralgangs

Verbgangs, ganging, ganged

11 meanings of gang

Practice

1
criminal groupnouncountable
An organized group of criminals, or a group of young people who commit crime together and often claim a part of a city as their territory.
Prosecutors claimed the men formed a gang to smuggle goods across the border.
The gang divided its profits according to each member's role.
Similarring, mob, syndicate, band
2
group of friendsnouncountable
A group of people who spend time together or act together for a shared purpose, such as friends or allied politicians; also used to address such a group.
The usual gang gathered at the café before the morning shift.
A gang of volunteers spent the weekend repainting the community hall.
UsageFriendly in the usual gang or the gang from work; in neutral writing, group or crew avoids a criminal reading.
Similargroup, crowd, bunch, crew, band
Note
Here the noun keeps its link to motion. Old English gang meant "a journey; way; passage", and a gang in this sense is a number going in company. It stays friendly in phrases like the gang from our office or the Gashouse Gang.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
The noun derives from Old English gang, meaning 'a journey; way; passage', retaining an etymological connection with motion. en.wiktionary.org
The Gashouse Gang is an established name for a noncriminal group, the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team. en.wikipedia.org
3
work crewnouncountable
A group of laborers working together under a single foreman; a squad or work crew.
A track gang replaced the worn rails before the next train passed.
The foreman assigned each gang a different section of the field.
Similarcrew, squad, team, detail
4
prison labornounUScountable
A group of prisoners chained together and forced to perform hard labor, typically outdoors.
The gang was shackled together as it cleared the roadside ditches.
Convicts on the gang hauled rock from dawn until dusk.
UsageOutside a prison setting, the full chain gang is clearer.
Note
American usage lets the bare noun stand for the whole of chain gang. In a prison setting, the gang is the line of shackled convicts, not just any work crew.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
A chain gang consists of convicts chained together for work. en.wiktionary.org
5
group sexverbslangvulgartransitive
To engage in group sex in which multiple participants have sex with a single person.
Similargangbang
Note
This verb is a clipping of gangbang, itself formed from gang and bang. Richard Allen's Skinhead (1970) has a character who likes "the idea of them all ganging her". The passive, getting ganged, can instead mean being set upon and beaten by a group, so context decides which is meant.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
The sexual verb gang is a clipping of gangbang. en.wiktionary.org
Gangbang is formed from gang and bang. en.wiktionary.org
Richard Allen wrote Skinhead. openlibrary.org
Skinhead was first published in 1970. deanstreetpress.co.uk
The quoted words describe a character's thoughts in Skinhead. en.wiktionary.org

Less common meanings

6
combine into oneverbtransitive
To attach similar items to one another so they form a single larger unit.
Electricians often gang several switches behind a single faceplate.
The shop ganged multiple small jobs onto one sheet to save paper.
UsageUsually with together or to: switches ganged together, a control ganged to a switch.
Similargroup, combine, batch, bundle
Oppositeseparate, split
Note
Cleats are ganged together so their marks align, volume controls are ganged to mode switches, and chairs are ganged together into rows. Woodworking, equipment design and interior planning all use it for parts joined so they work or sit as one unit.
7
switch unitnouncountable
A set of electrical switches or sockets wired together as one unit under a single faceplate.
Beside the back door, a gang of three switches under one faceplate controls the porch, garage, and yard lights.
A two-switch gang fit neatly into the existing wall box.
UsageMostly before box, switch or plate: a double gang switch.
Note
Electricians use the word as a unit of size for wall boxes. A double gang switch puts two devices under one plate, and an outlet gang box is built to match.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
Gang count indicates the size of an electrical wall box and its matching cover plate. kyleswitchplates.com
A double-gang arrangement accommodates two devices under one plate, with a corresponding box. riosalto.com
8
linked toolsnouncountable
A set of similar tools or parts arranged or kept together for one job.
At the sawmill, a gang of parallel blades slices each log into several boards in one pass.
Workers mounted a gang of saws to slice several boards at once.
Similarset, bank, array
Note
Machinists and farmers use the word as a modifier as often as a noun. Beside a gang of saws or a gang of plows stand the gang drill and gang milling, where several cutters work together in one pass. The matching verb names the act of assembling such a set.
Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 1 fact
Gang milling uses several cutters together to machine a workpiece simultaneously. iscar.com.cn
9
goverbdialectalNorthern EnglandScotlandintransitive
In Scottish and northern English dialect, to go or walk somewhere.
'We'll gang down to the harbor once the rain stops,' the old fisherman said in his broad Scots.
'Ye gang on ahead, and I'll catch ye up,' she called over her shoulder.
Similargo (entry), walk
Note
The northern and Scots verb for going comes straight from Old English gangan, "to go, walk, turn out", and ultimately from a root meaning "to step". Writers use it to give a character a Scots voice: Richard Cumberland's Colin in The Fashionable Lover (1772) may "gang in this poor geer", and James Hogg's shepherd will "gang foot for foot" to Moffat.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
The verb descends from Old English gangan, meaning to go, walk or turn out, ultimately from a root meaning to step. en.wiktionary.org
Richard Cumberland wrote The Fashionable Lover, first published in 1772. cpercy.artsci.utoronto.ca
Colin speaks the quoted words in The Fashionable Lover. en.wiktionary.org
Colin's dialogue represents Scottish speech. cpercy.artsci.utoronto.ca
A shepherd in James Hogg's fiction says he will gang foot for foot to Moffat. gutenberg.org
10
journeynoundialectalcountable
A going or journey; also the course, path, or track that one follows.
That week was also called the Gang Week, from the Saxon ganger, to go; and the Rogation days were termed the Gang Days.
1869, “Papa André”, in Once a Week
Similarpath, track, journey, route, way
Note
The going sense survives in old names from the church year. The Rogation days, when parishes walked in procession, were called the Gang Days and their week the Gang Week, both from a word meaning "to go". It pairs with the northern verb for going.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
Gang Days and Gang Week were names for the Rogation days and their week. gutenberg.org
Gang Week denoted Rogation week. papastronsay.blogspot.com
Parishioners walked in procession on Rogation days. en.wikipedia.org
The church-year names preserve gang's going or walking meaning. gutenberg.org
Both names derive from a word for going or walking. en.wikipedia.org
11
nounobsolete
An outbuilding used as a toilet; an outhouse set apart from the main dwelling.
Note
This meaning is long out of use and turns up only in older writing.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
The outhouse sense of gang is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of gang apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meaning 9

Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ- ("to step, walk") lies behind Proto-Germanic *ganganą, which gave Old English gangan, meaning "to go, walk, turn out," and Middle English gangen. Scots gang, Swedish gånga, and Icelandic ganga are relatives, and the word is ultimately connected to gang in the sense of a group.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts

Proto-Germanic *ganganą derives from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰengʰ-, meaning 'to step, walk'. en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Germanic *ganganą is the ancestor of Old English gangan. en.wiktionary.org
Old English gangan meant 'to go, walk, turn out'. en.wiktionary.org
Middle English gangen descends from Old English gangan. en.wiktionary.org
Scots gang, Swedish gånga, and Icelandic ganga are related forms. en.wiktionary.org
The verb gang is ultimately related to the noun gang meaning a group. en.wiktionary.org

Meanings 1–4, 6–8, 10–11

Old English gang meant "a journey, way, passage" and became Middle English gang. It goes back through Proto-Germanic *gangaz to the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰengʰ- ("to step, stride"). Dutch gang, German Gang, and Swedish gång are cognates.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

Old English gang meant “a journey, way, passage”. en.wiktionary.org
Middle English gang descended from Old English gang. en.wiktionary.org
The word descends from Proto-Germanic *gangaz. en.wiktionary.org
Proto-Germanic *gangaz ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰengʰ-, meaning “to step, stride”. en.wiktionary.org
Dutch gang, German Gang, and Swedish gång are cognates of English gang. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 5

A shortening of gangbang.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Gang, in this verb sense, is a shortening of gangbang. en.wiktionary.org