gal

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈgal How to pronounce gal (audio)
Synonyms of galnext
: girl, woman

gal

2 of 4

noun (2)

: a unit of acceleration equivalent to one centimeter per second per second
—used especially for values of gravity

gal

3 of 4

abbreviation (1)

1
gallery
2
gallon

Gal

4 of 4

abbreviation (2)

Galatians

Synonyms

Noun (1)

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of gal in a Sentence

Noun (1) after years of dating, Fred finally asked his gal to marry him
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Potentially, there will be gals involved, which will be great for the game as female golfers are playing more and more on-course and off-course. — Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025 While the mixed chats devolve into spaces for laddish toilet jokes, innuendos, and obsessions with drinking, the gals dissect the men without restraint. — Kassondra Cloos, Outside Online, 12 Feb. 2025 Even though she's never been a big nail art gal, Selena Gomez always has fun with her manicures. — Marci Robin, Allure, 28 Feb. 2025 Sunday’s state average of $3.22/gal is an increase of more than $0.03/gal from a week ago, according to AAA – The Auto Club Group. — Garfield Hylton, Orlando Sentinel, 27 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for gal

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

alteration of girl, by loss of [r] and vowel raising

Noun (2)

Galileo Galilei

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1795, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1914, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gal was in 1795

Phrases Containing gal

Rhymes for gal

See All Rhymes for gal

Browse Nearby Words

gal
Gal
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Gal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gal. Accessed 24 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

gal

noun
ˈgal
: girl

Medical Definition

gal

abbreviation
1
galactose
2
gallon

Legal Definition

GAL

abbreviation
guardian ad litem

More from Merriam-Webster on gal

Nglish: Translation of gal for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about gal

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All