gag

Meaning

Noun

1. (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.
2. (countable, uncountable) An order or rule forbidding discussion of a case or subject.
3. (countable, figuratively, uncountable) Any suppression of freedom of speech.
4. (countable, uncountable) A joke or other mischievous prank.
5. (countable, uncountable) a device or trick used to create a practical effect; a gimmick
6. (countable, uncountable) A convulsion of the upper digestive tract.
7. (archaic, countable, uncountable) A mouthful that makes one retch or choke.
8. (archaic, slang, uncountable) Unscripted lines introduced by an actor into his part.
9. (countable, uncountable) Mycteroperca microlepis, a species of grouper.

Verb

1. (intransitive) To experience the vomiting reflex.
2. (transitive) To cause to heave with nausea.
3. (transitive) To restrain someone's speech by blocking his or her mouth.
4. (transitive) To pry or hold open by means of a gag.
5. (figuratively, transitive) To restrain someone's speech without using physical means.
6. (ambitransitive) To choke; to retch.
7. (ambitransitive, obsolete, slang) To deceive (someone); to con.
8. (transitive) To astonish (someone); to leave speechless.

Synonyms

joke

🤣

choke

jest

muzzle

retch

jape

wisecrack

suffocate

vomit

laugh

😆

prank

heave

strangle

quip

asphyxiate

fret

stifle

anecdote

gasp

haunt

hoax

imposture

jewfish

lie

obliteration

occlude

open

oppress

paralyse

pleasantry

plug

press

pressure

reach

rockfish

sally

shut

shut down

shut up

silence

smother

speculum

story

tease

throw up

tribulate

witticism

worry

funny story

get sick

Translations

bâillon

bâillonner

Gag

Knebel

Witz

🤣

mordaza

amordazar

gag

🤣

bavaglio

iocus

🤣

mordaça

badinage

🤣

battuta

haut-le-cœur

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɡæɡ/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: gaggen

In summary

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.