gang

present singular third person gangs · participle present ganging · participle past ganged · past ganged · alternative gan

1. Northern EnglandScotlandintransitiveTo go; walk; proceed.

   2 more examples

   (Colin alone) Ah, Colin, thou’rt a prodigal; a thriftless loon thou’st been, that cou’d na’ keep a little pelf to thysall when thou had’st got it; now thou may’st gang in this poor geer to thy live's end, and worse too for aught I can tell; ’faith, mon, ’twas a smeart little bysack of money thou hadst scrap’d together, an the best part of it had na’ being last amongst thy kinsfolk, in the Isles of Skey and Mull; muckle gude may it do the weams of them that ha’ it! There was Jamie MacGregor and Sawney MacNab, and the twa braw lads of Kinruddin, with old Charley MacDougall, my mother's first husband's second cousin: by my sol I cou’d na’ see such near relations, and gentlemen of sich auncient families gang upon bare feet, while I rode a horseback: I had been na’ true Scot, an I cou’d na’ ge’en a countryman a gude last upon occasion (as he is going out, Miss Aubrey enters.)

   1772, Richard Cumberland, The Fashionable Lover. A Comedy., act III

   "And am I to meet my Mary at Moffat? Come away, little, dear, welcome body, thou blessed of heaven, come away, and taste of an auld shepherd's best cheer, and I'll gang foot for foot with you to Moffat, and my auld wife shall gang foot for foot with us too. I tell you, little, blessed, and welcome crile, come along with me."

   1828, James Hogg, Mary Burnet

plural gangs

1. A number going in company; a number of friends or persons associated for a particular purpose.

   the Gashouse Gang

   1 more example

   The gang from our office is going out for drinks Friday night.

   1. A group of laborers under one foreman; a squad or workgang.

      a gang of sailors; a railroad gang; a labor gang or pool

   2. A criminal group with a common cultural background and identifying features, often associated with a particular section of a city.

      a youth gang; a neighborhood gang; motorcycle gang.

   3. A group of criminals or alleged criminals who band together for mutual protection and profit.

      The Winter Hill Gang was quite proficient at murdering rival mobsters in order to take over their rackets.

   4. A group of politicians united in furtherance of a political goal.

      The Gang of Four was led by Jiang Qing, the fourth wife of Mao Zedong.

      1 more example

      Not all members of the Gang of Six are consistent in their opposition to filibuster.

   5. USA chain gang.
   6. African-American VernacularA term of address for a group, particularly when cautioning them or offering advice.
   7. InternetbroadlyAfrican-American VernacularA term of address for any other person or group of people.

      The sun isn't real? What are you even talking about, gang?

   8. broadlycollectiveA group of animals.

      One day they followed a gang of deer that ran in toward the settlements.

      1915, Noah J. Major, The Pioneers of Morgan County: Memoirs of Noah J. Major, E. J. Hecker, page 331

      2 more examples

      saw Several gangs of Elk on each Side of the river. late in the afternoon we Saw a gang of Buffaloe

      1805, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition: The journals of John Ordway, May 14, 1804-September 23, 1806, and Charles Floyd, May 14-August 18, 1804

      there sat the gang of toms who owned the neighbor's patio under feline law.

      2016, Stone Riley, Tales Of Men And Women, page 219

   9. broadlycollectiveA group of turkeys.

      Nearly every farmer has a "gang" of turkeys.

      1913 November 6, National Stockman and Farmer, volume 37

      3 more examples

      He was not long in discovering a fine gang of turkeys, and after assuring himself that many of them had taken the direction he desired, undertook to regain the covert by another route.

      1883, Mary Virginia Terhune, Her wedding day, page 9

      On our way back to the camp the dogs run into a gang of turkeys.

      1928, William G. Lewis, Lewis Family, page 30

      "Come on, boss; I b'leeve I know whar dey is. "Tis three gangs done got to-gether, en dey ain' been hunted at all. Ei we git in dat gang we gits turkeys en dat's jes' what's gwinter happen!"

      1905 December, Plummer F. Jones, “Turkey-Hunting in the Old Dominion”, in Field and Stream, volumes 9-10, number 8, CBS Publications, page 751

2. A set of things.
   1. A combination of similar tools or implements arranged so as, by acting together, to save time or labor; a set.

      a gang of saws; a gang of plows; a gang drill; gang milling

   2. A set; all required for an outfit.

      a new gang of stays

   3. electricsA number of switches or other electrical devices wired into one unit and covered by one faceplate.

      an outlet gang box; a double gang switch

   4. electricsA group of wires attached as a bundle.

      a gang of wires

      1 more example

      Do a drop for the telephone gang, then another drop for the Internet gang, both through the ceiling of the wiring closet.

3. dialectalA going, journey; a course, path, track.

   In unploughed Maine he sought the lumberers’ gang / Where from a hundred lakes young rivers sprang

   1840, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Woodnotes I.3

   2 more examples

   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, page 418/1

   Neither Marshall nor Bouterwek makes clear the connection existing between the Gang-days and the Major and Minor Litanies.

   1895, Frederick Tupper Jr., Anglo-Saxon Dæg-Mæl, Modern Language Association of America, page 229

4. obsoleteAn outhouse: an outbuilding used as a lavatory.

   Synonyms: outhouse

present singular third person gangs · participle present ganging · participle past ganged · past ganged

1. transitiveTo attach similar items together to form a larger unit.

   Volume controls may be ganged to mode switches to provide maximum output […]

   1981, Human Engineering Design Criteria for Military Systems, United States. Department of Defense, page 58

   2 more examples

   When cutting the back cleats with the T-guide, first gang them together so all the marks on one side align.

   1999 May, Rosario Capotosto, “Building a Bookcase”, in Popular Mechanics

   The chairs are usually ganged together using a variety of ganging or locking mechanisms to create rows and prevent the chairs from moving out of position.

   2011, Corky Binggeli, Interior Graphic Standards: Student Edition, →ISBN, page 317

1. pronunciation spellingPronunciation spelling of gan.

present singular third person gangs · participle present ganging · participle past ganged · past ganged

1. Synonym of gangbang.

   He still liked the idea of them all ganging her [...]

   1970, Richard Allen, Skinhead, New Eng. Lib., →ISBN, page 104; republished as Skinhead, Dean Street Press, 2015, →ISBN

   1 more example

   […] I’ve learned over the years that there's a thin line to tread to avoid fights or getting “ganged” when rejecting the sexual overtures of incarcerated women.

   Alarid, Leanne Fiftal (2000), “Sexual Assault and Coercion Among Incarcerated Women Prisoners: Excerpts From Prison Letters”, in The Prison Journal, volume 80, number 4, →DOI

   Synonyms: gangbang

plural gangs

1. alternativecountableuncountablebusinessAlternative form of gangue.