gaw

G2A1W4
UK/ɡɔː/US/ɡɔ/US, cot caught merger/ɡɑ/

verb

To gape or stare.

Similar
fiddlesticksget out of townpull the other oneJeebusJiminy Cricket'sbloodpfaughpshaw
OriginMiddle English gowen ← Old Norse gá →
UncommonScrabble 7
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Meanings

gaw1

verbgaw (third-person singular simple present gaws, present participle gawing, simple past and past participle gawed)

present singular third person gaws · participle present gawing · participle past gawed · past gawed

  1. obsoleteTo gape or stare.

gaw2

interjection
  1. An expletive expressing disbelief, disdain, or horror

    "Gaw!" he whispered, "I don' like dead bodies some'ow! I'd almost rather that chap was alive."

    1907, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “On Goat Island”, in The War in the Air: […], London: George Bell and Sons, published 1908, →OCLC

    Synonyms: fiddlesticks, get out of town, pull the other one, Jeebus, Jiminy Cricket, 'sblood, pfaugh, pshaw

Gaw3

proper noun
  1. A surname from Scottish Gaelic.

Synonyms & antonyms

interjectionAn expletive expressing disbelief, disdain, or horror

Similar
fiddlesticksget out of townpull the other oneJeebusJiminy Cricket'sbloodpfaughpshawpoohgorblimeyfeh
Also see
bahgawkpfuistarewow

Origin

gaw · verb

  1. Old Norsegá
  2. Middle Englishgowen“to stare”
  3. Englishgaw

From Middle English gowen (“to stare”), from Old Norse gá.

More words from Middle English, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →

gaw · interjection

Minced oath for God.

Full word history & related roots →

Gaw · proper noun

  1. Scottish Gaelicgall“foreigner or stranger”
  2. EnglishGaw

From Scottish Gaelic gall (“foreigner or stranger”), meaning: * (Ireland) a person from Wales or England who immigrated after the Norman invasion, or * (Scotland) a person from Scandinavia or the English-speaking lowlands.

More words from Scottish Gaelic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Czech zírat, koukat
  • zíratto stare
  • koukatto stare
French nom d'un chien, parbleu
  • nom d'un chienexpressing disbelief
  • parbleuexpressing disbelief
  • sacrebleuexpressing disbelief

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with gaw

lawsawrawdrawshawawwithdrawMcGrawstrawwarsawwofauxjawthoughtfultauflawawepawclawthorLimbaughwaughhawthaw
All rhymes →

Anagrams

wagGWA
Cite this entry
APA

gaw. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaw

MLA

“gaw.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaw. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gaw,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/gaw.

Source: gaw on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.