gag

Meaning

Noun

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

Verb

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

Josh

winding-up

groupers

comic story

amusing story

makebusy

sport

charcoal belly

gag grouper

gag-velvet rockfish

humorous story

close one’s mouth

comical story

silence somebody

cabrilla

tiger grouper

mouth-gag

wedge open

rockhind

antics

auxiliary verb

beset

blanketing

blocking

bother

cartoon

chaff

close

closedown

cut-off

demoralize

distress

frustrate

fun

funnies

funny

😄

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɡæɡ/

Etymology

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.