gung ho

adjective

ˈgəŋ-ˈhō How to pronounce gung ho (audio)
Synonyms of gung honext
: extremely or overly zealous or enthusiastic

Synonyms

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Examples of gung ho in a Sentence

We were really gung ho about joining the team. he was gung ho about his accounting class
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.
The studio was really gung ho about the film—top movie star, top TV star. — Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 16 June 2024 Formerly gung ho investment banks, such as Goldman Sachs, are moving into the retail banking sector, becoming ever so slightly more like a utility than a hedge fund. — Gillian Tett, Foreign Affairs, 11 June 2019

Word History

Etymology

Gung ho!, motto (interpreted as meaning "work together") adopted by certain U.S. marines, from Chinese (Beijing) gōnghé, short for Zhōngguó Gōngyè Hézuò Shè Chinese Industrial Cooperative Society

First Known Use

1941, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gung ho was in 1941

Rhymes for gung ho

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Cite this Entry

“Gung ho.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gung%20ho. Accessed 26 Mar. 2025.

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Kids Definition

gung ho

adjective
ˈgəŋ-ˈhō How to pronounce gung ho (audio)
: extremely enthusiastic
Etymology

Gung ho! motto (thought to mean "work together") of a U.S. Marine battalion in World War II, from the Chinese (Beijing dialect) phrase Zhōngguó Gōngyè Hézuò Shè "Chinese Industrial Cooperative Society"

Word Origin
Since the war was not going well for the U.S. in 1942, Marine Lt. Col. Evans F. Carlson needed something special to make his troops feel hopeful and excited. He was organizing the Marines' Second Raider Battalion in California and told his men their motto would be gung ho. This, he told them, was Chinese for "work together." Since there was a Chinese Industrial Cooperative Society known as Gōnghé and since gōng does mean "work," and hé does mean "join," what he said seemed to make sense. But gōng and hé cannot be put together in Chinese to mean "work together." The organization known as Gōnghé was, in full, Zhōngguó Gōngyè Hézuò Shè. The Chinese themselves shortened it to Gōnghé just as we abbreviate long names and titles in English. But in English gung ho stuck as a motto and went on to become an adjective meaning "extremely enthusiastic."
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