gangway
/ˈɡæŋweɪ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.51 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A passage along either side of a ship's upper deck.
noun
A passage through the side of a ship or an opening in the railing through which the ship may be boarded; (also in later use) a jet bridge.
noun
A temporary passageway, such as one made of planks.
Example Sentences
- "The new fleet of trains comes with widened gangways and improved seating."
- "Morris then allegedly tried to flee into a gangway between the bar and another building, closing a gate on an officer as he did"
- "We came over on the usual mid-morning service from Victoria and this time, as we came down the gangway of the Invicta, the Shedmaster at Calais, M. Leclerc, and Henri Dutertre were waiting for us."
- "Like a lot of my fellow passengers — indie-rock fans who had signed up for a three-day voyage full of bands and beverages — I’d never been on a cruise before. So I don’t know whether most of them begin with a staff member high-fiving each and every person who comes off the gangway."
- "He gangwayed his way through the crowd, and just as the clock struck midnight, he was standing in front of NBC's camera on national TV as the governor-elect of Minnesota and the first Reform Party candidate ever to be elected to high office."
- "They're conducting phone conversations without speaking into the wrong end of their mobiles, or gangwaying to the Gents without tripping over, or turning the pages of a newspaper without blacking adjacent eyes."
Etymology
From Middle English gangway, from Old English gangweġ (“passageway; thoroughfare”), equivalent to gang + way. Related to Dutch gang (“hallway”) and Norwegian gang (“hallway”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: gangway, gangweġ
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈɡæŋweɪ/
- British English: /ˈɡæŋweɪ/