gung ho
English
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gung ho
- /ˌɡʌŋˈhəʊ/ UK
- /ˌɡʌŋˈhoʊ/ US
Rhymes with -əʊ
Where it comes from
From a catachresis of Mandarin 工合 (gōnghé), an acronym for 工業合作社 /工业合作社 (gōngyè hézuòshè, “[Chinese] Industrial Cooperative Society”), as 工 (gōng, “work”) + 合 (“together”), literally “to work together”. The interpretation "work together" was created by U.S. Marine Evans Carlson, who was posted in China during the 1930s. It became the motto and nickname of the enthusiastic battalion Carlson commanded, leading to other marines adopting the term to mean "overly enthusiastic". It was popularized in the United States by the war film Gung Ho! (1943), which profiled the battalion's leadership of the Raid on Makin Island during World War II.
adjective more gung ho · most gung ho · gungho · gung-ho
- Overly enthusiastic or energetic. No matter how gung ho you are when you start, you will tire as you become mired in details.
- Cocky; undisciplined; contemptuous of rules.
Translations
Every language
adj overly enthusiastic or energetic
| Español | pum para arriba |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | übereifrig |
Talk about this word "gung ho." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gung%20ho. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. gung ho. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gung%20ho "gung ho." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gung%20ho.Cite this
@misc{gung_ho_2026,
title = {gung ho},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gung%20ho},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
