Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense gags, present participle gagging, past tense, past participle gagged
1. countable noun
A gag is something such as a piece of cloth that is tied around or put inside someone's mouth in order to stop them from speaking.
His captors had put a gag of thick leather in his mouth.
Synonyms: muzzle, tie, restraint More Synonyms of gag
2. verb
If someone gags you, they tie a piece of cloth around your mouth in order to stop you from speakingor shouting.
I gagged him with a towel. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: silence, muffle, muzzle, quieten More Synonyms of gag
3. verb
If a person is gagged by someone in authority, they are prevented from expressing their opinion or from publishing certain information.
[disapproval]
Judges must not be gagged. [beVERB-ed]
[Also VERB noun]
4. verb
If you gag, you cannot swallow and nearly vomit.
I knelt by the toilet and gagged. [VERB]
Synonyms: retch, choke, heave More Synonyms of gag
5. countable noun
A gag is a joke.
[informal]
...a gag about policemen giving evidence in court. [+ about]
6. verb [only cont]
If you say that someone is gagging for something or is gaggingto do something, you are emphasizing that they want to have it or do it very much.
[informal]
Girls everywhere are gagging for a car like this. [VERB + for]
There are thousands of students absolutely gagging to come to this university. [VERB to-infinitive]
More Synonyms of gag
gag in British English1
(ɡæɡ)
verbWord forms: gags, gagging or gagged
1. (transitive)
to stop up (a person's mouth), esp with a piece of cloth, etc, to prevent him or her from speaking or crying out
2. (transitive)
to suppress or censor (free expression, information, etc)
3.
to retch or cause to retch
4. (intransitive)
to struggle for breath; choke
5. (transitive)
to hold (the jaws) of (a person or animal) apart with a surgical gag
6. (transitive)
to apply a gag-bit to (a horse)
7. be gagging for
noun
8.
a piece of cloth, rope, etc, stuffed into or tied across the mouth
9.
any restraint on or suppression of information, free speech, etc
10.
a surgical device for keeping the jaws apart, as during a tonsillectomy
11. parliamentary procedure another word for closure (sense 4)
Word origin
C15 gaggen; perhaps imitative of a gasping sound
gag in British English2
(ɡæɡ) informal
noun
1.
a joke or humorous story, esp one told by a professional comedian
2.
a hoax, practical joke, etc
he did it for a gag
verbWord forms: gags, gagging or gagged
3. (intransitive)
to tell jokes or funny stories, as comedians in nightclubs, etc
4. (often foll by up) theatre
a.
to interpolate lines or business not in the actor's stage part, usually comic and improvised
b.
to perform a stage jest, either spoken or based on movement
Word origin
C19: perhaps special use of gag1
gag in American English
(gæg)
verb transitiveWord forms: gagged or ˈgagging
1.
to cause to retch or choke
2.
to put something over or into the mouth of, so as to keep from talking, crying out, etc.
3.
to keep from speaking or expressing oneself freely, as by intimidation
4.
to prevent or limit speech in (a legislative body)
5. Mechanics
to choke or stop up (a valve, etc.)
verb intransitive
6.
to retch or choke
7. Informal
to make a gag or gags; joke
noun
8.
something put into or over the mouth to prevent talking, crying out, etc.
9. US
any restraint of free speech
10.
a device for holding the jaws open for dental work or for any surgery inside the mouth
11.
a.
a comical remark or act; joke, as one interpolated by an actor on the stage
b.
a practical joke or hoax
Word origin
ME gaggen, of echoic orig.
Examples of 'gag' in a sentence
gag
Or is there a subliminal gag being made about this fair organ?
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
You do not repeat gags from one night to the next.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
When the gag comes off he pulls an eerie smug grin.
The Sun (2009)
The thought of it was enough to make one gag.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The only great gag here comes at the very end.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The one big gag involves a coupon for shampoo.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
But he cannot resist one final outrageous gag.
The Sun (2016)
My mouth was gagged with snow.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
We feminists put a 30-year gag on men and stopped them speaking about their reality.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Jokes and gags come easily to him; he truly is a funny man.
Chris Gidney CELEBRATING SECOMBE: A Tribute to Sir Harry Secombe (2002)
She would panic if asked to eat anything other than egg and chips and gag if she put other foods near her mouth.
The Sun (2015)
Take that gag from his mouth, and let us hear what he can say for himself.
Herman Melville Moby Dick (1901)
The gags come thick and fast, with a side helping of romantic slush.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
I won't make any lubricant gags either.
The Sun (2015)
I'm gagging just thinking about it.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
The writers have packed the story with knowing gags and though you know exactly what you are going to get, the jokes still feel fresh.
The Sun (2014)
A nation that allows the wealthy to use the courts to gag the Press cannot call itself a free nation.
The Sun (2016)
What am I meant to do, gag him and put him in his room?
The Sun (2011)
In other languages
gag
British English: gag NOUN
A gag is something such as a piece of cloth that is tied around or put inside someone's mouth in order to stop them from speaking.
His captors had put a gag of thick leather in his mouth.
American English: gag
Brazilian Portuguese: mordaça
Chinese: 塞口物
European Spanish: mordaza
French: bâillon
German: Knebel
Italian: bavaglio
Japanese: さるぐつわ
Korean: 재갈
European Portuguese: mordaça
Latin American Spanish: mordaza
British English: gag VERB
If someone gags you, they tie a piece of cloth around your mouth in order to stop you from speaking or shouting.
I gagged him with a towel.
American English: gag
Brazilian Portuguese: amordaçar
Chinese: 塞住...之口
European Spanish: amordazar
French: bâillonner
German: knebeln
Italian: imbavagliare
Japanese: さるぐつわをかませる
Korean: 재갈을 물리다
European Portuguese: amordaçar
Latin American Spanish: amordazar
All related terms of 'gag'
gag-bit
a powerful type of bit used in breaking horses
gag law
any closure regulation adopted by a deliberative body
gag order
If a judge puts a gag order on information relating to a legal case , people involved in the case are banned from discussing it in public or writing about it.
gag rule
any closure regulation adopted by a deliberative body
sight gag
a visual joke
Chinese translation of 'gag'
gag
(ɡæɡ)
n(c)
(on mouth) 塞口物 (sāikǒuwù)
(= joke) 笑话(話) (xiàohua) (个(個), gè)
vt
[prisoner]塞住 ... 的嘴 (sāizhù ... de zuǐ)
(fig) 使缄(緘)默 (shǐ jiānmò)
vi
(= choke) 作呕(嘔) (zuò'ǒu)
to gag on sth被某物卡住喉咙(嚨) (bèi mǒuwù qiǎzhù hóulóng)
(noun)
Definition
something, usually a piece of cloth, stuffed into or tied across the mouth
His captors had put a gag of thick leather in his mouth.
Synonyms
muzzle
dogs that have to wear a muzzle
tie
It's a bit of a tie, going there every Sunday.
restraint
1 (verb)
Definition
to stop up (a person's mouth), usually with a piece of cloth, to prevent them from speaking or crying out
I gagged him with a towel.
Synonyms
silence
muffle
I held a handkerchief over my mouth to muffle my voice.
muzzle
quieten
She tried to quieten her breathing.
stifle
stop up
2 (verb)
Definition
to deprive of free speech
a journalist who claimed he was gagged by his bosses
Synonyms
suppress
She surpressed a smile at the thought.
silence
He tried to silence anyone who spoke out against him.
subdue
He forced himself to subdue and overcome his fears.
muffle
curb
He must learn to curb that temper of his.
stifle
Critics have accused them of trying to stifle debate.
muzzle
He complained of being muzzled by the chairman.
quieten
3 (verb)
Definition
to choke as if about to vomit or as if struggling for breath
I knelt by the toilet and gagged.
Synonyms
retch
The smell made me retch.
choke
heave
She gasped and heaved and vomited.
idiom
See be gagging for something or be gagging to do something
(noun)
Definition
a joke, usually one told by a professional comedian
(informal)
He made a gag about bald men.
Synonyms
joke
No one told worse jokes than Claus.
crack (slang)
He made a nasty crack about her weight.
funny (informal)
When I played against him, he kept cracking funnies all the time.
quip
a deadpan quip
pun
The title of the book is a pun on his name.
jest
It was a jest rather than a reproach.
wisecrack (informal)
He kept making wisecracks about her weight.
sally
She had thus far succeeded in fending off my conversational sallies.
witticism
This witticism produced a burst of raucous laughter.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of crack
Definition
a gibe or joke
He made a nasty crack about her weight.
Synonyms
joke,
dig,
insult,
gag (informal),
quip,
jibe,
wisecrack,
witticism,
funny remark,
smart-alecky remark
in the sense of curb
Definition
to control or restrain
He must learn to curb that temper of his.
Synonyms
restrain,
control,
check,
contain,
restrict,
moderate,
suppress,
inhibit,
subdue,
hinder,
repress,
constrain,
retard,
impede,
muzzle,
bridle,
stem the flow of,
keep a tight rein on
in the sense of funny
When I played against him, he kept cracking funnies all the time.
Synonyms
joke (informal),
crack (slang),
quip,
pun,
jest,
wisecrack,
witticism,
play on words
Synonyms of 'gag'
gag
Explore 'gag' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of wisecrack
Definition
a clever, amusing, sometimes unkind, remark
He kept making wisecracks about her weight.
Synonyms
joke,
sally,
gag (informal),
quip,
jibe,
barb,
jest,
witticism,
smart remark,
pithy remark,
sardonic remark
in the sense of witticism
Definition
a witty remark
This witticism produced a burst of raucous laughter.