gag

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gag^¹

/ɡæɡ/ US, UK
/ɡaɡ/ British, Northern England, Scotland
/ɡæːɡ/ Australia
/ɡɛɡ/ New Zealand
/ɡeɪɡ/

Rhymes with -æɡ

Where it comes from

The noun is from Early Modern English gagge; the verb is from Middle English gaggen. Possibly imitative or perhaps related to or influenced by Old Norse gag-háls ("with head thrown backwards"; > Norwegian dialectal gaga (“bent backwards”)). The intransitive sense "to retch" is from 1707. The noun is from the 16th century, figurative use (for "repression of speech") from the 1620s. The secondary meaning "(practical) joke" is from 1863, of unclear origin.

noun gags

countable, uncountable A device to restrain speech, such as a rag in the mouth secured with tape or a rubber ball threaded onto a cord or strap. Blood may seep to the back of the throat and may clot, producing an “artificial gag” of clotted blood.
broadly, countable, uncountable An order or rule forbidding discussion of a case or subject.
Similar: gag order
countable, figuratively, uncountable Any suppression of freedom of speech. Civil Court blocks PM's gag on free speech
countable, uncountable A joke or mischievous prank. We all know how genius “Kamp Krusty,” “A Streetcar Named Marge,” “Homer The Heretic,” “Itchy & Scratchy: The Movie” and “Mr. Plow” are, but even the relatively unheralded episodes offer wall-to-wall laughs and some of the smartest, darkest, and weirdest gags ever Trojan-horsed into a network cartoon
Similar: see Thesaurus:joke
countable, uncountable a device or trick used to create a practical effect; a gimmick On Hacksaw Ridge, Oliver and his team of effects artisans devised gags for that spectacular flamethrower shot along with other devastating body and bullet hits, and several mortar and full-scale explosions, all aimed at communicating the reality of battle.
Similar: see Thesaurus:joke
countable, uncountable A shocking or surprising thing. That’s why it was a surprise when Elecktra Bionic won instead of her. No queen in Drag Race history had ever won with no challenge wins before Elecktra, so to say it was a gag would be an understatement.
Similar: see Thesaurus:joke
archaic, slang, uncountable Unscripted lines introduced by an actor into his part. "The Critic" has long been known in the theatre as a "gag-piece;" that is, a play which the performers consider themselves entitled to treat with the most merciless licence.
Similar: see Thesaurus:joke
countable, uncountable A convulsion of the upper digestive tract, caused by the gag reflex.
archaic, countable, uncountable A mouthful that makes one retch or choke. L. has recorded the repugnance of the school to gags, or the fat of fresh beef boiled, and sets it down to some superstition.
countable, uncountable Any member of the species Mycteroperca microlepis of groupers. The shallow water groups (Family Serranidae), including gag (Mycteroperca microlepis), black grouper (M. bonaci), scamp (M. phenax), and red grouper (Epinephalus morio), support major commercial and recreational fisheries in the southeastern United States.
Similar: gag grouper

verb gags · gagging · gagged

intransitive To experience the vomiting reflex. He gagged when he saw the open wound.
transitive To cause to heave with nausea. His empty stomach was suddenly full of butterflies, and for the first time since arriving here at scenic Durkin Grove Village, he felt an urge to gag himself. He would be able to think more clearly about this if he just stuck his fingers down his throat […]
transitive To restrain someone's speech by blocking his or her mouth. “[…] Captain Markam had been found lying half-insensible, gagged and bound, on the floor of the sitting-room, his hands and feet tightly pinioned, and a woollen comforter wound closely round his mouth and neck ; whilst Mrs. Markham's jewel-case, containing valuable jewellery and the secret plans of
transitive To pry or hold open by means of a gag. 1917, Francis Gregor (translator), De Laudibus Legum Angliae, Sir John Fortescue, written 1468–1471, first published 1543. […] some have their mouths gagged to such a wideness, for a long time, whereat such quantities of water are poured in, that their bellies swell to a prodigious degree […]
figuratively, transitive To restrain someone's speech without using physical means. When the financial irregularities were discovered, the CEO gagged everyone in the accounting department.
ambitransitive To choke; to retch.
ambitransitive, obsolete, slang To deceive (someone); to con. I endeavoured what I could to soften off the affectation of her sudden change of Disposition; and I gagged the Gentleman with as much ease as my very little ease would allow me to assume.
transitive To astonish (someone); to leave speechless. I knew who you were as a [RuPaul's] Drag Race fan. So I was gagged personally and I still am gagged, but it was quite divine intervention. Thom Kerr, the photographer, really got the ball rolling and I had no idea what to expect of this shoot besides greatness.

GAG^²

noun GAGs

abbreviation Abbreviation of group-specific antigen
abbreviation, initialism Initialism of glycosaminoglycan

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: choke, suffocate, quip, jest, jape, wheeze, fret, joke, heave, laugh, muzzle, yak, stifle, fooling, kidding, trick

Translations

Every language

noun device to restrain speech

Español	mordaza
한국어	재갈 jaegal, 개그 gaegeu
日本語	猿轡 sarugutsuwa, ギャグ gyagu
Português	mordaça
Français	bâillon
Deutsch	Knebel
Italiano	bavaglio
Русский	кляп kljap

noun joke or prank

Español	mordaza
한국어	개그 gaegeu
日本語	ギャグ gyagu
Français	gag
Deutsch	Witz, Gag
Italiano	scenetta, trovata
Русский	шу́тка šútka

noun convulsion

Español	basca, asco
Português	asco
Français	haut-le-cœur

noun order or rule forbidding discussion

Deutsch	Maulkorberlass

verb To restrain someone's speech

Español	amordazar
Português	amordaçar
Français	bâillonner
Deutsch	knebeln, mundtot machen
Italiano	imbavagliare

verb to experience the vomiting reflex

Español	tener arcadas, basquear
中文	干呕 gān'ǒu
Português	ter ânsia, ter ânsia de vômito, engulhar
Français	avoir un haut-le-cœur
Deutsch	würgen
Tiếng Việt	ọe

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Cite this

MLA

"gag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gag. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

gag. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gag

Chicago

"gag." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gag.

BibTeX

@misc{gag_2026,
  title = {gag},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gag},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}

gag