gal·lows
ˈga-(ˌ)lōz 
-ləz,
in sense 3 also
-ləs
plural gallows also gallowses
1
a
or less commonly gallows tree plural gallows trees
: a frame usually of two upright posts and a transverse beam from which a noose is suspended and that is used for executions by hanging
… I'll be lucky if they don't whip me to the bone. More likely I'll be hung from the gallows.—
Sid Fleischman
Sid Fleischman
b
: the punishment of execution by hanging
2
: a structure consisting of an upright frame with a crosspiece
… it's all hands on deck when the captain decides to raise or lower the sail. This is a demanding and dangerous maneuver as the yard and furled sail normally rest on gallows in line with the ship …—Rich Harbert
Rich Harbert3
dated
: suspender sense 2a
: deserving the gallows see also gallows bird, gallows humor
Examples of gallows in a Sentence
Noun
He was sentenced to death on the gallows.
Recent Examples on the Web
Reeves Wiedeman, Vulture, 12 July 2024
Parker Lyons, a senior financial analyst at Twitter, fired off a series of gallows-humor tweets late in the week joking about LinkedIn recruiters circling and about angst over checking his email.
—Sarah E. Needleman, WSJ, 5 Nov. 2022
Longreads, 12 Apr. 2024
There is a gallows humor in their songs about addiction and inertia, with a strong anti-capitalist streak to boot.
—David Renshaw, WIRED, 26 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for gallows 
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Noun
Baldwin has regrown the beard and put on a new set of western clothes — the originals are still in evidence — to make a movie that is now being filmed in front of a pack of paparazzi snapping shots of Baldwin getting dragged up to a gallows for an onscreen hanging.
—Reeves Wiedeman, Vulture, 12 July 2024
Parker Lyons, a senior financial analyst at Twitter, fired off a series of gallows-humor tweets late in the week joking about LinkedIn recruiters circling and about angst over checking his email.
—Sarah E. Needleman, WSJ, 5 Nov. 2022
Adjective
Thankfully, Preston suffuses the piece with a gallows humor that proves absolutely crucial.
—Longreads, 12 Apr. 2024
There is a gallows humor in their songs about addiction and inertia, with a strong anti-capitalist streak to boot.
—David Renshaw, WIRED, 26 Dec. 2023
See all Example Sentences for gallows
Dictionary Entries Near gallows
Cite this Entry
“Gallows.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gallows. Accessed 25 Nov. 2024.
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