gar

1 of 4

interjection

used as a mild oath in the phrase by gar

gar

2 of 4

noun

: any of various fishes that have an elongate body resembling that of a pike and long narrow jaws: such as
b
: any of several predaceous North American freshwater bony fishes (family Lepisosteidae) with heavy ganoid scales

gar

3 of 4

abbreviation (1)

garage

GAR

4 of 4

abbreviation (2)

Grand Army of the Republic

Examples of gar in a Sentence

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
White River, circa 1950: Virtually all gone today, the river was once home to massive gar like this one, weighing in at 230 pounds and measuring 7 feet and 8 inches long. Ray Hanley, arkansasonline.com, 29 Oct. 2024 Longnose gar have elongated bodies, thin snouts, needle-like teeth, olive brown or deep green coloring and silver-white bellies, according to the National Aquarium. Helena Wegner, Miami Herald, 17 July 2024 For Lyons, gars in today's world are capturing the public's interest. Discover Magazine, 20 June 2024 Lake Michigan Tank: In this 80,000-gallon freshwater tank, visitors will see animals native to the Great Lakes, such as shovelnose sturgeon, northern pike, gar and carp. Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 17 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for gar 

Word History

Etymology

Interjection

euphemism for God

Noun

short for garfish

First Known Use

Interjection

1598, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1765, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of gar was in 1598

Dictionary Entries Near gar

Cite this Entry

“Gar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gar. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

gar

noun
ˈgär
: any of various fishes with a long body like that of a pike and long narrow jaws

Geographical Definition

Gar

geographical name

variants or Kaerh
town in western Tibet, China

More from Merriam-Webster on gar

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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